MEDIA RELEASE	Media embargo – 9 February 2011
Tuberculosis still a threat (200 words)
Indigenous Australians remain at higher risk of contracting Tuberculosis (TB) than other Australians.
In the February issue of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Linda Robertus and colleagues argue that this partly reflects the continuing social inequalities Indigenous Australians experience.
“Lower levels of education, employment, income and access to health care, as well as crowded living conditions, malnutrition and substance abuse could all be factors,” said Dr Robertus.
“Given the higher rates of TB in the Indigenous population and the fact that they rarely travel out of Australia it is highly probable that there is ongoing transmission in this community.
“The Northern Territory in particular has always had TB rates higher than the national rate. The most recent national data available shows that this is still the case.”
TB became a major cause of death in the Indigenous community in the second half of the 19th Century, mainly as a result of the changing way of life. From a nomadic lifestyle Indigenous people were increasingly forced to live in established settlements, where they suffered from overcrowding, unhygienic conditions, poor nutrition and considerable psychological stress.
Dr Robertus believes that TB rates in the Indigenous population will remain a problem until these inequalities are addressed.
ENDS
For more information about this research, contact the research author: 
Dr Linda Robertus, Queensland Tuberculosis Control Centre, Locked Bag 66, Coorparoo DC, Queensland 4151; 
Phone: 07 3896 3956 (Mon and Tues) or 0413 829 591 e-mail: lindarobertus@hotmail.com
MEDIA ONLY: To receive a PDF of the paper or for more information about ANZJPH, contact: Peta Neilson ANZJPH  Ph: (03) 9329 3535 E-mail: anzjph@substitution.com.au
The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health is published by the Public Health Association of Australia. Information on the Association and the Journal can be found at http://www.phaa.net.au