Tuberculosis notifications in Australia, 2011

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Background:

• Tuberculosis (TB) rates in Australia have remained stable at 5-6 cases per 100,000 population since the mid-1980s.
• Despite overall stability, a gradual increase in TB incidence has been observed over the last decade.
• The overseas-born population significantly contributes to TB notifications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze tuberculosis (TB) notification trends in Australia for 2011.
• To identify demographic groups with varying TB incidence rates.
• To assess the burden of multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in Australia.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of tuberculosis (TB) notification data from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System for 2011.
• Calculation of TB incidence rates per 100,000 population for different demographic groups.
• Examination of trends in TB and multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) cases.

Main Results:

• In 2011, Australia recorded 1,385 TB notifications at a rate of 6.2 per 100,000 population.
• Overseas-born individuals accounted for 88% of notifications with a rate of 20.2 per 100,000.
• The Australian-born Indigenous population showed a decrease in TB notification rate to 4.9 per 100,000 in 2011, while the non-Indigenous rate remained low at 0.9 per 100,000.
• Twenty-five multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) cases were reported, exclusively in the overseas-born population.

Conclusions:

• Maintaining robust national TB surveillance is crucial for monitoring trends and targeting at-risk populations.
• Continued contribution to global TB control initiatives is essential for Australia to sustain low TB rates and work towards further reductions.
• Addressing TB in overseas-born populations remains a key focus for national control efforts.