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At a glance
- Vaccine preventable – check who’s eligible
- Nationally notifiable disease
About tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
It usually affects the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body including the brain, bones or kidneys.
People with tuberculosis can carry the bacteria for months or years without becoming sick because their immune system keeps it under control – this is called tuberculosis infection.
When the bacteria multiply and the immune system can no longer control the infection, symptoms appear and the infection can spread to others – this is called tuberculosis disease.
Why it matters to public health
Tuberculosis is one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. It causes about 1.3 million deaths globally each year.
Tuberculosis is less common in Australia compared with other countries – most people diagnosed with tuberculosis in Australia were likely exposed overseas. But the risk of tuberculosis can be higher for people in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Tuberculosis bacteria have evolved to become resistant to some antibiotics. This means laboratory testing is important for choosing the right medication for each person affected by tuberculosis. Drug resistant tuberculosis is uncommon in Australia. Detecting these infections is critical to prevent further spread of resistant strains.
Because of these important health impacts, we:
- monitor and report on tuberculosis cases in Australia
- plan for how to manage cases and outbreaks.
Symptoms
If you’re looking for advice about your own health or treatment options, see healthdirect or speak with a qualified healthcare professional. Our role is to provide public health advice – information and guidance that helps prevent disease, protect communities and improve wellbeing at a population level.
About 1 in 10 people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis become unwell with tuberculosis disease.
Common symptoms of tuberculosis disease in the lungs include:
- a persistent cough that lasts 2 weeks or longer
- coughing up phlegm (sputum) or blood
- fever
- night sweats
- loss of appetite and unintended weight loss
- fatigue
- chest pain.
Tuberculosis disease that affects other parts of the body can have a wide range of symptoms, depending on where the infection is.
healthdirect’s symptom checker can help you decide whether to see a health professional.
Onset of symptoms
Symptoms of tuberculosis disease may appear weeks or months after infection.
People who are immunocompromised and young children might develop symptoms sooner.
How it spreads
Only people with tuberculosis disease can spread the disease to other people.
People with tuberculosis infection (but not tuberculosis disease) are not infectious.
When someone with tuberculosis disease in their lungs talks, breathes, coughs or sneezes, tiny droplets or particles carrying the bacteria are released. If another person breathes these in, they can become infected.
Tiny particles containing the bacteria can stay in the air for several hours – especially in small or poorly ventilated spaces.
Tuberculosis is more likely to spread when people spend a long time together.
People with tuberculosis disease in parts of the body other than the lungs are usually not infectious.
Tuberculosis does not spread through:
- sharing food
- touching surfaces
- casual contact like shaking hands.
Infectious period
People with tuberculosis disease who aren’t effectively treated can be infectious for many weeks, months or even years.
People who receive effective treatment are usually no longer infectious after treatment begins.
Prevention
Public health authorities take action to prevent tuberculosis. This includes:
- following up close contacts of people with tuberculosis disease
- broader community screening where tuberculosis infection is being spread.
People migrating to Australia who fall within certain groups – such as healthcare workers from countries with a higher prevalence of tuberculosis – are also screened for tuberculosis infection as part of their visa requirements. If found to be infected, they will be offered treatment.
Vaccination
In Australia, tuberculosis vaccination is only recommended for certain groups, including:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged under 5 years in some parts of Australia
- healthcare professionals with a high risk of exposure
- some children aged under 5 years who
- are travelling overseas to areas where tuberculosis is common
- might be at greater risk of tuberculosis because of their family or household members – this is based on assessment of the risk.
Talk to your healthcare professional or contact your state or territory immunisation health service.
Other prevention steps
Apart from vaccination, the best way to protect against tuberculosis is to seek the advice of a healthcare professional if:
- you have a cough without a known cause that lasts more than 2 weeks
- you think you might be at risk of tuberculosis.
They might recommend testing or preventative treatment.
Priority groups and settings
Some people are at greater risk of getting tuberculosis or getting very sick from it.
People at greater risk of severe disease
Tuberculosis poses a greater risk of severe illness for:
- people who are immunocompromised
- people living with other conditions – such as untreated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), poorly controlled diabetes, kidney failure or other chronic conditions
- babies and children aged under 5 years – especially those aged under 2 years
- older people.
People at greater risk of exposure
People might be at greater risk of being exposed to tuberculosis if they:
- have been in countries where tuberculosis is more common
- have contact with someone who has tuberculosis disease in their lungs
- care for somebody with tuberculosis disease
- live or spend time in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities where tuberculosis infections have been detected.
Diagnosis and treatment
Testing and treatment for tuberculosis is available without cost to the person through all Australian public hospitals and tuberculosis programs – regardless of a person’s citizenship or Medicare eligibility.
Healthcare professionals diagnose tuberculosis using:
- X-rays
- a sputum test – if the person has a cough
- blood tests.
A skin prick test might be done if a person has been exposed to someone with tuberculosis.
If tuberculosis is present outside the lungs, other tests might be needed.
You can use healthdirect’s directory to find a health service near you.
Treatment involves a combination of antibiotics for at least 6 months. The required treatment period might be longer for drug-resistant or multi-drug-resistant infections.
Treatment is determined and managed by a medical specialist.
Read more about how to manage or treat tuberculosis.
Surveillance and reporting
Tuberculosis is a nationally notifiable disease – these are diseases that present a risk to public health.
Health authorities in each state and territory report new cases to us through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.
This is part of national surveillance activities to monitor case numbers around the country and understand disease patterns.
We analyse the data and report on case numbers and other data through our data visualisation tool, where you can filter and search the latest information.
Outbreaks
The public health response to a tuberculosis outbreak is led and coordinated by state and territory health authorities. The response might include:
- making sure anybody with tuberculosis is appropriately treated
- encouraging people with tuberculosis to stay at home and away from others
- teaching people about the disease and ways to prevent spread
- identifying and testing close contacts
- providing preventive treatment, if needed
- monitoring people for new infections.
Support
For information about tuberculosis in your state or territory, see:
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Tasmania
- Victoria
- Western Australia.
If you need support, see:
- a list of organisations, websites and services that offer mental health support, counselling and information
- the Lung Foundation Australia website.
For travel advice, see Smartraveller.
Latest resources
Tuberculosis – Surveillance case definition
This document contains the surveillance case definition for tuberculosis, which is nationally notifiable within Australia. State and territory health departments use this definition to decide whether to notify us of a case.
Tuberculosis – CDNA National Guidelines for Public Health Units
These guidelines for Public Health Units provide nationally consistent guidance on how to respond to tuberculosis. They are part of a Series of National Guidelines (SoNGs) published by the Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA).
Tuberculosis – Laboratory case definition
The Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN) has developed standard case definitions for the diagnosis of key diseases in Australia. This document contains the laboratory case definition for tuberculosis.