Common symptoms of active TB include coughing, chest pains, fever, fatigue and coughing up blood or phlegm. The airborne respiratory illness is usually transmitted during prolonged close contact with an infected person.

An outbreak of tuberculosis in the Kansas City area has grown into one of the largest ever recorded in the United States, with dozens of active cases of the infectious disease reported, according to health officials.

The Kansas City area is facing one of the country’s largest outbreaks of tuberculosis in recent years. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, as of Jan. 24, there have been 67 confirmed cases of active TB in the state,