Cassowary Coast Regional Council

No higher cancer rates in Innisfail, says Queensland Health

Queensland Health has confirmed that there is no evidence of a higher rate of cancer or birth defects in Innisfail as recently reported by the media.

Following the claim of high cancer rates in Innisfail, and as per standard public health protocols, Queensland Health Tropical Population Health Network’s Public Health Medical Officer investigated to find out further information.

Further results now show that media claims suggesting 76 Innisfail residents out of a population of 12,000 had died from cancer in 2005 are totally incorrect.

Official figures actually confirm that the number of people who died from cancer in Johnstone Shire (population 19,589) in 2005 was 40, and not the 76 quoted.

This means that the rate of deaths from cancer in Johnstone Shire in 2005 was similar to the rest of Queensland — not 10 times the Queensland average as reported in the media.

The rate of new cancer cases in Johnstone Shire in 2005 was 533 cases per 100,000 people, which is not significantly different from the rate for the entire state.

The Johnstone Shire rate for the period between 1991-2005 was the same as the Queensland rate.

Queensland Health’s Tropical Population Health Network Director Brad McCulloch said: “There is no evidence to suggest that there were more new cases of cancer or more cancer deaths in Johnstone Shire compared with Queensland in 2005.

“This pattern is also seen in the data combining all years from 1990 to 2005.”

The same also applies to official figures relating to birth or congenital abnormalities in Johnstone Shire.

In 2005, there were six babies born in Johnstone Shire with birth or congenital abnormalities, giving a rate of 24 per 1,000 births. This compares with the rate of 40 per 1,000 births for Queensland in 2005.

“This means that Innisfail had almost half the rate of birth defects compared with the rest of Queensland in 2005,” said Mr McCulloch.

ends

Media contact:
Gavin Broomhead
Tropical Population Health Network
Ph: 4050 3603

Background

• The Cassowary Coast Regional Council was formed on 15 March 2008 through the State Government local government reform process, and comprises of the former shires of Cardwell and Johnstone. Innisfail is the largest town in the former Johnstone Shire.
• Figures relating to new cases of cancer were sourced from the Queensland Cancer Registry.
• Figures relating to cancer deaths were sourced from the Registrar-General’s Office (Births, Deaths and Marriages), and supplied by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
• Figures relating to birth or congenital abnormalities were sourced from the Perinatal Data Collection.
• In 2005, the Estimated Resident Population for Johnstone Shire was 19,589.
• The cancer mortality rate for Johnstone Shire in 2005 was 185 deaths per 100,000 people. This was not significantly higher than Queensland.