Tuberculosis notifications in Australia, 2010

Abstract

The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System received 1,353 tuberculosis (TB) notifications in 2010, representing a rate of 6.1 cases per 100,000 population. While rates of 5 to 6 cases per 100,000 population for TB have been maintained in Australia, since first achieved in the mid-1980s, there has been a steady increase in incidence over the past decade. The incidence in the Australian-born Indigenous population was 7.5 per 100,000 population, which is 11 times the incidence reported in the Australian-born non-Indigenous population of 0.7 per 100,000 population. Overseas-born people accounted for 90% of all cases notified in 2010 and represented a rate of 24 per 100,000 population. International students have been recognised as an increasingly important group, representing 25% of all overseas-born cases notified in 2010, and are a focus of this report. Household or other close contact with TB or past residence in a high risk country were the most commonly reported risk factors for TB infection. Outcome data for the 2009 TB cohort indicate that treatment success was attained in more than 95% of cases. As Australia continues to contribute to global TB control it is important to maintain good centralised national reporting of TB to identify populations at risk and monitor trends in TB. Commun Dis Intell 2014;38(1):E36–E48.