The 2012 edition of the annual mesothelioma incidence report Mesothelioma in Australia: incidence 1982 to 2008, mortality 1997 to 2007 has been released by Safe Work Australia. This is the fifth report in the series.

 

The 2012 edition shows that in 2008 there were 661 new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in Australia.

 

This number is only slightly lower than the highest figure ever recorded of 668 new cases in 2007.

 

Although Mesothelioma is a disease of long latency and the time between exposure to asbestos and diagnosis is typically in the range of 20 to 40 years, once contracted the disease progresses rapidly with average survival times of about 6 to 18 months

 

The data in this report was provided by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

 

Download the Mesothelioma in Australia: incidence 1982 to 2008, mortality 1997 to 2007 report.