AU: 2026 Diphtheria

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-26/respiratory-diphtheria-outbreak-in-nt/106495408

Centre for Disease Control issues health warning after outbreak of respiratory diphtheria in NT
By Tilda Colling
5h ago​

The Northern Territory Department of Health has declared an outbreak of diphtheria, with four cases of a deadly strain now confirmed.

On Wednesday, NT Health's Centre for Disease Control (CDC) issued a public health alert for the disease after three cases in Darwin and one in Alice Springs were reported in the last week.

There have also been 33 cases of cutaneous diphtheria notified since 2025.

"This is unusual, we haven't had an outbreak in my 26 years in the Northern Territory," NT Health Chief Health Officer Paul Burgess said.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.healthytravel.com.au/news/diphtheria-cases-nt-2026/

April 7, 2026
Diphtheria returns to the Northern Territory

The NT Centre for Disease Control is investigating a diphtheria outbreak in the Northern Territory. Four cases of respiratory diphtheria have been notified since 23 March 2026 - two in Darwin and two in Alice Springs - alongside 37 cases of cutaneous (skin) diphtheria notified since May 2025. A public health alert was issued on 31 March 2026.

This outbreak is quite unusual. Respiratory diphtheria has not been seen in the Territory for over 26 years. The skin form is more common, but the recent cluster of respiratory cases has prompted heightened vigilance from clinicians and public health authorities.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://ntindependent.com.au/more-cases-of-diphtheria-reported-in-the-nt/

More cases of diphtheria reported in the NT
by Independent Staff | Apr 28, 2026

The NT has recorded 84 cases of diphtheria since January 1 last year, NT Health said on Tuesday, with 66 of those cases involving skin sores, as incidents of the uncommon bacterial infection that can cause severe illness in unvaccinated individuals continues to grow.

Of the 84 reported cases between January 1, 2025 and April 24, 2026, the remaining 18 cases were highly contagious respiratory diphtheria.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://7news.com.au/news/outbreak-...iphtheria-death-in-almost-a-decade-c-22292355

Published: 1 hour ago
Outbreak of disease in Northern Territory leads to first Australian diphtheria death in almost a decade
The last person to die from the disease was an unvaccinated adult back in 2018.
By Freddy Pawle


An ongoing outbreak of a deadly disease has led to the death of an Australian for the first time since 2018.

More than 140 people have been infected with the respiratory illness, diphtheria, across the Northern Territory since the start of last year.

Central Australian Aboriginal Congress chief medical officer, John Boffa, told the ABC that one person had died from the disease in a remote region a number of weeks ago.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifest...a/news-story/ddf807988635523b51d53155223d89ca

‘Very concerning’: Federal government pledges support package to combat ‘biggest ever’ outbreak of diphtheria
The federal government has moved to contain a potentially deadly disease, as several states are gripped by the “biggest ever” outbreak of the disease in history.
Alexandra Feiam and David Hannant
3 min read
May 20, 2026 - 9:00PM
NewsWire​


The federal government has pledged to put a support package in place to combat “the biggest outbreak of diphtheria ever seen”.

More than 220 cases of the illness have now been reported in Australia, with the Northern Territory also having reported the first diphtheria-related death in almost a decade.

Addressing the case numbers, which began in the Northern Territory before spreading into Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia, federal health minister Mark Butler said the situation was “very concerning”.

He said: “To put that in context, we have been recording case numbers nationally for about 35 years, and this, by a very big distance, is the biggest outbreak of diphtheria we have ever seen.

​“It is about 30 times the average number of diphtheria cases that we’ve seen over the last five years or so.”

In response to the spread, the federal government is working on a support package geared at boosting waning vaccination rates.

“More vaccines, a surge workforce is part of the package that we’ll be finalising over the course of today, working closely with the NT government and with the Aboriginal controlled sector, because this is overwhelmingly an outbreak being experienced by Indigenous Australians in the NT,” Mr Butler added.

“I want to say this is not just very serious in terms of its numbers, but the vast majority of new cases we’re seeing are respiratory diphtheria, which is far more serious in terms of its potential — about 25 per cent of cases are being hospitalised.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05...-only-one-possible-diphtheria-death/106717680

NT Health confirms only one possible diphtheria-related death amid outbreak
14 hours ago

The Northern Territory health department is refuting an earlier report that a second person has died with diphtheria in the NT, as the country continues to grapple with an ongoing outbreak of the disease.

Sources close to the deceased have told the ABC that the Central Australian man was diagnosed with diphtheria days ago and died at Alice Springs Hospital yesterday.

NT Health has since said the man did not die with diphtheria.

"NT Health has confirmed that the reported death of a patient in Central Australia on Sunday 24 May, is in no way related or linked to diphtheria," NT Health said in a statement.

"NT Health is unable to provide further comment on the cause of death for privacy reasons.

"There has been one possible death related to diphtheria in the Northern Territory as of 25 May 2026.

"NT Health is still awaiting a formal autopsy result."​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c759q6y26w3o

Australia confirms first diphtheria death amid worst outbreak in decades
4 hours ago
Lana Lam
Sydney

Australia has recorded its first diphtheria death in almost a decade as the country grapples with the worst outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease in decades.

In March, the Northern Territory (NT) declared an outbreak of diphtheria with cases also in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. Cases started rising in late-2025 with a sharp increase in February.

This year, there have been 245 cases, marking the largest outbreak in Australia since 1991, mainly in remote Indigenous communities.

On Tuesday, NT's health minister said autopsy results from an overseas lab found diphtheria was the cause of a man's death in April at Royal Darwin Hospital, the first such case since 2018.

In recent weeks, the government has ramped up vaccination efforts in areas most at risk and the number of new cases was now falling, health officials said on Tuesday.

"Our government has taken this situation very seriously, and we are working hard to understand the causes and working to contain the situation," NT Health Minister Steve Edgington said.

Since 30 March, there have been 10,407 vaccinations, he said.

Between January last year and May this year, the NT reported 163 diphtheria cases with 48 respiratory cases and 115 cutaneous cases, which is spread via skin contact.

In March, health officials in Western Australia (WA) confirmed two cases of respiratory diphtheria, the first time in more than 50 years that WA had recorded such cases.​..

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05...ria-surge-month-before-public-alert/106737280

Diphtheria cases surged a month before NT Health issued public alert, leaked data shows
By Joseph Hathaway-Wilson
55m ago​

n short:

Internal NT Health data leaked to the ABC reveals the NT's diphtheria cases surged a month before the department issued a public health alert.

The newly uncovered data also highlights which regions in the territory were hit the hardest by the outbreak.

Australia's current outbreak of diphtheria is the country's worst on record.
Link copied

Leaked NT Health data reveals diphtheria numbers surged in the Northern Territory a month before a public health alert was issued.

The data circulated by the department on Thursday to service providers has offered the first public insight into when diphtheria cases started growing in the NT, and the regions that were hit the hardest...

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Diphtheria in Australia – Epidemiological update – 8 June 2026

Download 20260609-diphtheria_epi_summary_-_web.pdf asPDF - 675 KB - 12 pages​

https://www.cdc.gov.au/resources/pu...-australia-epidemiological-update-8-june-2026

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://thewest.com.au/news/health/...warning-as-cases-spread-to-midwest-c-22483839

Health experts provide grim diphtheria warning as cases spread to Mid West
Headshot of Claire Sadler
Claire Sadler
The West Australian
Mon, 29 June 2026 4:06AM​

A case of diphtheria has been recorded in the Mid West, marking a spread of the potentially life-threatening bacterial infection to a majority of the State’s regions.

The once almost eradicated infection has now been detected in the Mid West, Perth metropolitan, Kimberley, Pilbara, and the Goldfields, prompting a grim warning from health experts about the spread throughout WA.

The Kimberley region remains at the centre of the outbreak with 135 cases, followed by the Pilbara at 32.

However, it has spread further with three people infected in the Goldfields, two across the Perth metropolitan as well the one case in the Mid West.

WA is now making up almost 44 per cent of the 401 cases recorded across the country.​..