Tuberculosis notifications in Australia, 2007

The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System received 1,135 tuberculosis (TB) notifications in 2007, of which 1,086 were new cases and 48 were relapsed cases. The incidence of TB in Australia in 2007 was 5.4 cases per 100,000 population, similar to rates since 1986. In 2007, 86.4% of cases occurred in the overseas-born population. The incidence in the Indigenous Australian population was 6.6 cases per 100,000 population. By contrast, the incidence of TB in the non-Indigenous population was 0.9 cases per 100,000 population. 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. In 2007, 31 cases of TB were reported in health care workers, 29 of which were in health care workers born overseas. There were no reports of TB transmission in Australian health care settings. Outcome data of the 2006 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 reporting of TB to identify populations at risk and for early detection of reversal in trends in TB.