Abstract
Tuberculosis continues to be a disease of global public
health significance. In 2001, 183 countries notified a total
of 3.8 million cases of tuberculosis to the World Health
Organization Global Surveillance Program. Countries
that surround Australia in the Western Pacific Region
account for one quarter of these notifications. In contrast,
Australia continues to have one of the lowest rates of
tuberculosis in the world. Despite these low rates of disease,
tuberculosis is an important public health challenge for
Australia, and requires the continued commitment of
multidisciplinary services and ongoing surveillance to
monitor trends in presentation of the disease, its treatment,
and the clinical outcomes for people identified with
tuberculosis.
