About TB
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that damages the lungs or other parts of the body and can cause serious illness and death. TB is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Case definitions
National guidelines
Prevention, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
The vaccine for tuberculosis is called the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine. It is not part of the childhood immunisation program, as TB rates in Australia are very low.
For information about prevention, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, see healthdirect's TB page.
Surveillance and reporting
TB is a nationally notifiable disease.
We monitor cases through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS).
For more on TB in Australia, you can search Communicable Diseases Intelligence.
Related work
We have a translated fact sheet giving advice for international students on tuberculosis (TB) screening and treatment.