A disease nearly eradicated by vaccines has claimed a life in Australia.
Health officials have confirmed Australia’s first diphtheria death since 2018 as the country battles its largest outbreak of the bacterial infection in decades.
The victim was a man who died in Darwin in April. An autopsy later confirmed that diphtheria toxin was the probable cause of death.
Diphtheria was once one of the world’s most feared childhood diseases. Before widespread vaccination, it killed thousands of people every year by attacking the throat and airways, sometimes forming a thick membrane that could make breathing impossible.
Mass immunization campaigns dramatically changed that. In Australia, the disease was largely eradicated by the 1940s. For decades, most people never had to think about it.
But health officials say cases began rising in late 2025, prompting an outbreak declaration earlier this year. The Northern Territory has now recorded 163 cases, including 48 respiratory infections, which are considered the most dangerous form of the disease. Cases have also been reported in Queensland and South Australia.
The outbreak is being linked in part to declining vaccination rates. In response, authorities have launched a major immunization campaign, administering more than 10,000 vaccine doses in just seven weeks. Encouragingly, new infections appear to be falling, with only nine cases reported in the past week compared with 22 during the outbreak’s peak.
Diphtheria spreads through coughs, sneezes, or close contact with contaminated items. Symptoms can include fever, sore throat, swollen neck glands, difficulty swallowing, and a distinctive gray-white coating in the throat. In some cases, the bacteria produce toxins that can damage the heart, nerves, and other organs.
This outbreak is a reminder that when vaccination rates fall, even illnesses that seemed defeated can return.
BBC News
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.
Last week, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Prof Michael Kidd declared diphtheria a communicable disease incident of national significance.
The government also announced a AU$7.2m package to boost vaccinations and resources in affected areas.
