Tuberculosis.

Abstract

Tuberculosis infection occurs in all countries of the world, and is caused by organisms of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. In recent decades the development of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis and the presence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have combined to increase the global threat to public health posed by tuberculosis. In 2010 there were 8.8 million new cases of tuberculosis worldwide, with more than 50% from South East Asia and the Western Pacific Region. In 2009, the estimated global incidence of tuberculosis was 128 cases per 100 000 population; in Australia the notification rate was 6.2 per 100 000, and in NSW there were 508 notified cases with an incident rate of 7.2 per 100 000 (data not yet published).