A reported multidrug-resistant tuberculosis exposure at Southwestern College in Chula Vista is giving San Diego physicians a timely reminder that TB remains an active clinical problem in the county — and that some recent local exposures have involved strains that are harder to treat. In April 2026 coverage, NBC 7 San Diego and County News Center reported that an infected individual may have exposed Southwestern Community College students and staff on the main campus between Oct. 27 and Dec. 14, 2025. County officials said the exposure involved MDR-TB and began notifying people believed to have had close contact.
The drug-resistance piece is what makes the story especially important for clinicians. NBC 7, quoting county public health officials, reported that MDR-TB “does not respond to standard medications.” In remarks carried by NBC 7 and People, Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan, San Diego County’s public health officer, said, “Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis can be more complicated and lengthier to treat since it is a form of infection that does not respond to the usual medicines.” She added that “TB, including MDR-TB, is treatable and curable with the right medication” and urged potentially exposed people to seek evaluation promptly.
That April alert followed another recent San Diego warning tied to Iglesia Ni Cristo church in Miramar, where county officials said the congregation and visitors may have encountered drug-resistant TB during services between Sept. 19 and Dec. 3, 2025. NBC 7 reported that the Miramar case was separate from the Southwestern College investigation. Still, together the two notices sharpen the same point for practicing physicians: TB exposure is not confined to classic high-risk clinical settings and can surface in ordinary community venues long before a clinician makes a diagnosis.
The broader local backdrop has been building for more than a year. In September 2024, San Diego County reported three unrelated TB exposures involving UC San Diego, Chula Vista High School, and the East Mesa Reentry Facility, underscoring how contact tracing can span higher education, K-12, and correctional settings within the same county. Earlier, in March 2024, county officials reported a 17% increase in active TB cases in 2023, with 243, above the 2021–2022 average of 205.
More recent county data suggest that upward pressure has continued. San Diego County’s 2026 “By the Numbers” fact sheet reports 247 new active TB diagnoses in 2024 and 265 in 2025. NBC 7’s April report also said county officials estimate about 175,000 residents have latent TB infection, and that 5% to 10% of those untreated may go on to develop active disease. For physicians, the practical takeaway is straightforward: in patients with a persistent cough, fever, night sweats, weight loss, hemoptysis, or a known exposure history, TB still belongs on the differential — and recent San Diego reporting suggests that, in some cases, drug-resistant TB should be on it as well.