OLYMPIA—Washington’s tuberculosis (TB) cases are rising, putting state and local public health officials on heightened alert. Widespread disruptions in public health and healthcare services and missed TB diagnoses due to similarities in symptoms between COVID-19 and TB are thought to have contributed to TB cases rising both locally and globally.

TB reporting decreased in 2020 during the first year of the pandemic. Though efforts to prevent COVID-19 may also reduce the spread of TB, the decrease could also have been due to delayed or missed TB diagnoses because of strains in the health c...