One person has died after a resurgence of the serious infection.

10:38, Tue, May 26, 2026 Updated: 10:40, Tue, May 26, 2026

doctor in blue gloves makes an injection to a child

The rollout of the diphtheria vaccine means UK cases are rare (Image: Getty)

Health authorities in Australia have launched an urgent vaccination campaign after the country recorded its first death from diphtheria in almost a decade. The contagious Victorian disease affects the nose, throat and sometimes the skin, and spreads through coughs, sneezes and close contact with infected people. Diphtheria is rare in the UK because babies and children have been routinely vaccinated against it since the 1940s.

Australia’s outbreak is the worst seen there since 1991, with 245 cases recorded this year, mainly affecting remote Indigenous communities. Some 60% of cases are in the Northern Territory, followed by 36% in Western Australia and small numbers in South Australia and Queensland. Northern Territory health minister Steve Edgington said there had been 163 cases reported.

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He added that numbers were now “declining [but] we’re far from out of the woods”.

Mr Edgington said: "Our government has taken this situation very seriously, and we are working hard to understand the causes and working to contain the situation."

Northern Territory chief health officer Dr Paul Burgess said vaccination rates had been falling across the word since the pandemic.

He added: "We've done a mountain of work in terms of improving our vaccination rates. I can tell you today that in the last seven weeks alone, more than 10,000 vaccines are in arms protecting Territorians against diphtheria.”

Dr Burgess said the outbreak was thought to have been caused by a bacterial strain “imported into northern Queensland in about 2022”.

Corynebacterium diphtheriae, illustration

Diphtheria can prove fatal, particularly in children (Image: Getty)

Symptoms of diphtheria include a thick grey-white coating that may cover the back of the throat, nose and tongue, fever, and sore throat.

Other symptoms include swollen glands in the neck and difficulty breathing and swallowing.

The infection is usually treated with antibiotics to kill the diphtheria bacteria, medicines that stop the effects of harmful substances produced by the bacteria and cleaning wounds that may have affected the skin.

People who have been in close contact with an infected patient may also be offered antibiotics and the vaccine.