title: Tuberculosis in Australia: bacteriologically-confirmed cases and drug resistance, 2011. A report of the Australian Mycobacterium Reference Laboratory Network.
abstract: The Australian Mycobacterium Reference Laboratory Network collects and analyses laboratory data on new cases of disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. In 2011, a total of 1,057 cases were identified bacteriologically; an annual reporting rate of 4.6 cases per 100,000 population. Eighteen children aged less than 15 years plus an additional 11 children from the Torres Strait Protected Zone had bacteriologically-confirmed tuberculosis. Results of in vitro drug susceptibility testing were available for 1,056 isolates for isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide. A total of 107 (10.0%) isolates of M. tuberculosis were resistant to at least one of these anti-tuberculosis agents. Resistance to at least isoniazid and rifampicin (defined as multi-drug resistance, MDR) was detected in 25 (2.4%) isolates; 18 were from the respiratory tract (sputum n=14, bronchoscopy n=3, tissue n=1). Ten (55.6%) of the MDR-TB-positive sputum specimens were smear-positive, as was a single sample from a lymph node. Ten patients with MDR-TB were Papua New Guinea (PNG) nationals in the Torres Strait Protected Zone. If these PNG nationals are excluded from the analysis, the underlying MDR-TB rate in Australia was 1.4%. No cases of extensively drug-resistant TB (defined as MDR-TB with additional resistance to a fluoroquinolone and an injectable agent) were detected in 2011.
authors: Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Directorate, SA Pathology, Adelaide, South Australia.
authors: Richard
authors: R
authors: Lumb
authors: Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Directorate, SA Pathology, Adelaide, South Australia.
authors: Ivan B
authors: IB
authors: Bastian
authors: Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales.
authors: Peter J
authors: PJ
authors: Jelfs
authors: PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, Western Australia.
authors: Terillee J
authors: TJ
authors: Keehner
authors: Queensland Health Pathology Services, Herston Hospitals Complex, Herston, Queensland.
authors: Sushil K
authors: SK
authors: Pandey
authors: Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, North Melbourne, Victoria.
authors: Aina
authors: A
authors: Sievers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000847:Annual Reports as Topic; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018563:Disease Notification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007753:Laboratories; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000382:microbiology; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000382:microbiology; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents