Wednesday, April 2, 2025
4/2/2025
Illinois Application to Eliminate TB in Illinois - The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Tuberculosis Prevention, Control and Elimination Program (IDPHTPCE Program) serves 102 counties in Illinois, excluding the city of Chicago. It is responsible for statewide surveillance and oversight of TB prevention, control, and elimination activities performed by Local TB Control Authorities (LTCAs). IDPHTPCE Program facilitates clinical consultations, oversight of education and training resources. The LTCAs in Illinois are county or sub-county TB Programs that are independently funded and operated to provide direct TB prevention and control services within their jurisdictions. LTCAs are within local health departments. The TB Program staff assists local programs with the implementation of Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) activities, the TB Expanded Medical Assistance Program (TB EMAP), assessment and identification of local problems, planning appropriate interventions, assistance with outbreaks, orientation, and training of local staff, and promotion and facilitation of networking with other programs. Surveillance data are gathered in the Illinois Disease Surveillance System (IDSS), a web-based system built for local and state health department staff and healthcare providers to report and monitor TB within Illinois. The TB modules within IDSS are used by all LTCAs, including Chicago, to access TB records, gather information specific to TB, such as treatment and contact investigation, and streamline the transfer of cases between LTCAs. IDSS assists IDPH and LTCAs in completing end-to-end data collection for TB reports and adapting and adjusting to allow surveillance and investigation of cases associated with outbreaks. While Illinois continues progressing slowly, current strategies will not alone lead to TB elimination in this century. Achieving TB elimination in Illinois will require focusing on persons in these high-risk groups, an approach addressed in Illinois 2024 application for TB funds. TB disproportionately affects specific populations, including those who are non-U.S.-born, along with persons who are HIV infected, have diabetes, persons experiencing homelessness, those who are incarcerated, and those who use or abuse drugs. The increasing proportion of TB disease cases among certain populations shows the need to address the social determinants of TB to achieve equitable care. In Illinois, the 2023 TB incidence rate among non-US-born persons was approximately 27 times greater compared to US-born persons (0.6 U.S.-born vs. 16.1 Foreign-born), and the percentage of TB cases occurring in US-born minorities is 83% of the US-born TB cases. The complexity of TB disease cases encountered in the state shows an ongoing need to address capacity-building and maintenance through TB education. New strategies are required to address these issues through community outreach and education; as well as addressing TB infection. Meeting the US TB elimination goals will require an added focus on testing and treating high-risk persons with latent TB infection (LTBI) to prevent them from developing active disease. Illinois’ competitive application for 2025-2029 TB funding will continue to focus on identifying and curing people with TB disease and on targeted testing and treatment strategies for people with latent TB infection.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).