Diphtheria infections have reached a level unseen in Australia in decades, spreading beyond the borders of the Northern Territory to three other jurisdictions, with a possible fatality under investigation in a remote indigenous community.
According to records kept at the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System, there have been 133 cases reported in the NT during this current diphtheria outbreak, with 79 cases in WA, six in SA and five in Queensland.
The NT Health department is waiting for the results of an autopsy to determine whether the cause of death in one of the remote communities was indeed the bacterial infection.
The disease has not been fatal in Australia in almost a decade if this turns out to be a confirmed case.
In comments made, Federal Health Minister Mark Butler noted that the problem is serious in its magnitude.
“There’s no question this is serious,” he said. Nearly all of the cases affected were indigenous people, according to Butler.
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Almost all cases reported were from remote Aboriginal communities, including the Kimberley region in WA and some parts of Goldfields and Pilbara.
Prior to this outbreak, the disease had been rarely diagnosed in Australia, and it was usually associated with traveling abroad.
Vaccination push under way
According to NT Health, a vaccination drive across the territory had been initiated, targeting vulnerable populations and at risk locations.
“Vaccination remains the single most important strategy to prevent, protect and limit transmission,” according to the health authority’s press release.
Experts in immunization believe that the outbreak is an indicator of immunity gaps that have grown wider over the past few years.
As noted by Milena Dalton, from the Burnet Institute in Melbourne, Australia, the outbreak proves how fast the re-emergence of vaccine preventable diseases can happen once communities fail to keep up with routine vaccination.
According to John Boffa of the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, he expressed his optimism that infection rates could drop since many members of affected communities had been vaccinated, indicating high acceptance of the vaccine by the locals.
The disease is transmitted via respiratory droplets when the infected individual coughs or sneezes.
Some of its symptoms include a sore throat, fever and lack of appetite.
In severe cases, difficulty breathing occurs, which in untreated patients may lead to death.
Another mild form of the disease, called cutaneous diphtheria, is transmitted through the skin and causes slow healing ulcers or sores.
Children can be vaccinated for free under the National Immunization Program, where the vaccination schedule involves six weeks, four months, six months, 18 months, four years and 12 years of age.
Pregnant mothers after 20 weeks are also covered, and adults advised to receive a booster shot after 10 years.
“Vaccination and boosters remain the key defense against serious illness, hospitalization and death from diphtheria.”
