Tuberculosis
Who gets TB in Australia, sputum smear, culture and Xpert, why IGRA can't diagnose active disease, 2HRZE/4HR and its toxicities, testing and treating TB infection before immunosuppression, airborne isolation, notification and contact tracing, plus Legionella and pertussis public health.
Tier 2Condition
Written with AI assistance and fact-checked against the sources below. For exam study, not clinical decisions. How notes are made
At a glance
- TB is uncommon in Australia (about 6 per 100,000) but almost 90% of cases are in people born overseas, and rates are higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in some remote communities.
- Think of it with cough over 2 weeks, fever, night sweats, weight loss or haemoptysis in anyone from a high-incidence country, and with any unexplained lymphocytic exudate or chronic lymphadenopathy.
- Active TB is diagnosed microbiologically: sputum smear, culture and NAAT. IGRA and the tuberculin skin test detect infection and can't separate latent from active disease.
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Sources
- Tuberculosis: CDNA National Guidelines for Public Health Units (Series of National Guidelines)AU/NZCommunicable Diseases Network Australia and National Tuberculosis Advisory Committee, Version 3.0, 3 March 2022
- Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic. Tuberculosis and tuberculosis infectionAU/NZTherapeutic Guidelines Limited (eTG complete), 2025 to 2026 staged update; guideline-wide changes March 2025 (topic version not verified)
- Denholm JT et al. Management of tuberculosis infection in a general practice setting: an implemented model of care. Aust J Gen Pract 2025;54(3)AU/NZRoyal Australian College of General Practitioners, 2025
- Coulter C and the National Tuberculosis Advisory Committee. Infection control guidelines for the management of patients with suspected or confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis in healthcare settings. Commun Dis Intell 2016;40(3):E360-6AU/NZNational Tuberculosis Advisory Committee, 2016
- WHO consolidated guidelines on tuberculosis. Module 4: treatment and careWorld Health Organization, April 2025
- Dorman SE et al. Four-month rifapentine regimens with or without moxifloxacin for tuberculosis (Study 31/A5349). N Engl J Med 2021;384:1705-18New England Journal of Medicine, 2021
- Thwaites GE et al. Dexamethasone for the treatment of tuberculous meningitis in adolescents and adults. N Engl J Med 2004;351:1741-51New England Journal of Medicine, 2004
- Last updated
- 14 November 2026
What changed
- 14 November 2026 Deploy to Cloudflare on push to main