As in other high-income countries, tuberculosis (TB), including musculoskeletal TB, occurs infrequently in Australia. Only 954 new TB cases (i.e. 5.15 per 105 population) were reported in 1997 with 44 cases of musculoskeletal TB. Hence, most Australian physicians and surgeons are unfamiliar with musculoskeletal TB, which can often present as a chronic slowly-progressive destructive disease. Consequently delays in diagnosis are common resulting in significant morbidity. In contrast, TB rates are more than 100 per 105 population in many countries in SE Asia and the Pacific. Medical staff are therefore familiar with the manifestations of TB but often lack the laboratory facilities to confirm the diagnosis or perform drug susceptibility tests (DSTs).

This presentation will provide research findings of interest to medical staff from both Australia and neighbouring countries. A review of musculoskeletal TB cases reported in South Australia over the last decade will be presented highlighting the delays in diagnosis and the resulting morbidity. Recent advances in TB diagnostics (i.e., novel agar media, Alamar blue, and Mycobacterium Growth Indicator Tubes) that represent appropriate technologies for low-resource countries will also be described.