Annual report Tuberculosis notifi cations in Australia , 2003

The National Notifi able Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS) received 982 tuberculosis (TB) notifi cations in 2003, of which 947 were new cases, 33 were relapses and two were cases with unknown history. The incidence of TB in Australia has remained at a stable rate since 1985 and was 4.9 cases per 100,000 population in 2003. The high-incidence groups remain people born overseas and Indigenous Australians at 19.9 and 8.7 cases per 100,000 population, respectively. By contrast the incidence in non-Indigenous Australians was 0.9 per 100,000. Comparison of the 2003 TB notifi cation data against the performance indicators set by National Tuberculosis Advisory Committee highlights that enhanced TB control measures should be considered among these high-risk groups. Commun Dis Intell 2004;28:464–473.