00:02Well, 538 cases of diphtheria have been recorded in Australia so far this year, primarily in the Northern Territory and
00:09Western Australia, but also in South Australia and Queensland.
00:13Now, this is the largest outbreak of diphtheria on record, and prior to this, the largest outbreak had been in
00:192022, with 31 cases, so a significant difference there.
00:24Diphtheria is a very contagious and can be dangerous infection treated with antibiotics that affects the nose, the throat, airways
00:32and also the skin.
00:34It can affect all of those things.
00:36Now, this outbreak has predominantly affected Indigenous Australians in outer regional and remote areas, and health authorities note that the
00:45outbreak peaked in late May to early June, and that cases have declined since then.
00:50So, if you look at the last fortnight, there were 26 cases of diphtheria, compared to almost 80 at the
00:55height of the outbreak.
00:57Public health experts say that that drop is encouraging, but they also note that testing also has dropped, so they
01:03say the actual case numbers could be much higher.
01:06So, Steph, do we know what's behind this outbreak?
01:10Well, governments and public health experts have attributed this outbreak to a range of issues, including waning vaccine immunity and
01:17also housing conditions.
01:20Once a leading cause of childhood deaths globally, diphtheria has really been eliminated in Australia since the 1950s, since vaccines
01:30were broadly introduced in the 1930s.
01:32What's really interesting about this outbreak is if you have a look at the people who tested positive for diphtheria
01:38this year, the vast majority had had at least three vaccine doses.
01:42And experts say that this serves as a reminder that immunity wanes from vaccines and also that people should stay
01:49on top of their boosters, but also that housing is a crucial issue here.
01:54This outbreak has disproportionately affected lower socioeconomic areas where overcrowding and poor housing conditions have meant that the disease can
02:03spread easily.
02:05Epidemiologist Adrian Esterman says that Australia can once again eliminate diphtheria, but to do that, housing conditions must be addressed.
02:13The children in these remote Aboriginal communities have got a higher vaccination rate than non-Aboriginal children.
02:22So, vaccination is not the main issue.
02:24The main issue is actually poor and overcrowded housing, which allows the bacteria to move from person to person.
02:31A health department spokesperson says the federal government has committed $13 million for a surge workforce to provide booster vaccines
02:42and treatments and also to support affected jurisdictions.
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