Crazy Horse on Market Street in San Francisco, Jan. 10, 2008.
Crazy Horse on Market Street in San Francisco, Jan. 10, 2008.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health is investigating two cases of active tuberculosis linked to a local strip club.
The first case was reported in early October, and it’s not clear if those sickened worked at the Crazy Horse strip club on mid-Market or if they were patrons, according to the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
“A contact tracing effort led by the Department was initiated to identify additional cases and prevent further spread,” an SFDPH spokesperson said in an emailed statement to SFGATE. “These efforts are ongoing and at this time, the risk to the general public is low.”
Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease that can remain in latent form for years or decades. A person with latent TB doesn’t have symptoms and can’t transmit the disease. However, at any point, latent TB can become active TB, where a person becomes contagious as they develop symptoms including fever, cough and weight loss.
San Francisco has been battling to lower the number of active TB cases for years. In 2025, the city reported an incidence of 9.3 TB cases per 100,000 people, which is far higher than the state average of 5.4 cases per 100,000 people.
Last fall, a monthslong outbreak of tuberculosis at Archbishop Riordan High School made headlines after eight people were diagnosed with active TB, and 244 more were found to have the latent form of the disease.
Article continues below this ad
Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco, said active TB is considered an airborne disease and one that can be transmitted relatively quickly in a poorly ventilated room.
“It’s incredibly irritating to the lungs, so that’s why that cough propels the little mycobacterial particles into the air and then you can get it,” she said of active TB.
Gandhi said that in some cases, it’s possible for a person to be exposed even after an infected person has left the room.
There is a cure for both latent and active forms of TB, although it generally requires months of antibiotics, which can be “difficult” to take, Gandhi said.
Due to the risk of a larger TB outbreak, any active case will trigger an investigation by the public health department to look for other people exposed to the disease. The department can even compel people to receive treatment or to remain in isolation due to the risk to the public.
“The public health department has the right to contact them and say, ‘Yes, you’ve been exposed, and we need you to get tested,’” Gandhi said.
— Meta strikes deal with Zuckerberg to keep him in Calif. over billionaire tax
— A $725M mega-hotel breaks ground between LA and SF
— Arrest made after Calif. DoorDash driver found dead in Tesla trunk
— Calif. city condemns release of serial rapist and Max Factor heir
Get breaking news sent straight to your inbox.