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How can this possibly be America's largest TB outbreak in history? TB was killing thousands of people per year in America in the 1800s.





> She noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started monitoring and reporting tuberculosis cases in the U.S. in the 1950s.

Ok, we've put the CDC up there instead. Thanks!

Edit: actually let's put the 1950s up there instead. I think there's more information that way.


Appreciate it, thanks.

But surely our disease experts know about the past outbreaks and their impact and wouldn't say something patently untrue like the headline.

"Recorded history" in the title refers to the period of history where the agency has been recording the numbers. It might not be the best phrasing, but it's not strictly untrue; the underwritten thesis (TB is on the rise) is still supported by the evidence.

"recorded history" sounds like it's how you divide pre-colonial Americas from modern (15th Century CE onward) Americas. For example, many weather features have been recorded in the Americas since 17th century CE. Does "recorded history" refer to only "[this particular metric's] recorded history"?

I agree that it's not the best term, but I don't think its so disqualifying that it makes the claim untrue: it's misleading at worst, and that imprecision only kinda interacts with the underlying claim.

I guess the better phrasing would be "Kansas tuberculosis outbreak is largest since (org) has been collecting data", which honestly doesn't change the implications for me.


They don't write the headlines.

The crucial word in the headline is "recorded". I doubt that record-keeping in the 1800s was as comprehensive as it is today.

Additionally, from the article:

> the CDC started monitoring TB in the US in the 1950s.


Eh, "recorded history" is totally the wrong phrase.

When we say "recorded history" we don't mean "the window of time in which we have detailed records up to our modern standards", we specifically mean "the window of time in which we have records of any sort", contrasted with "prehistory".

The phrase they were looking for is "largest on record" or even better "largest since 195X".

> For broader world history, recorded history begins with the accounts of the ancient world around the 4th millennium BCE, and it coincides with the invention of writing.

EDIT: Downvote away, but I'd be interested to hear from someone who believes that "recorded history" is not incorrect and confusing usage here, with an explanation rather than a drive by vote.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recorded_history


Largest in CDC records. US government records existed before 1950.

Sure, but that isn't what the headline says.

No I agree with you, the 1800s were part of recorded history.

If you read the article, it appears they've only been keeping records in Kansas since the 50's. And I think the headline is wrong: it's the biggest in Kansas's records. I could be mistaken about that.

The article states that they only started recording in the 1950s.



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