A remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory is struggling with a diphtheria outbreak, with residents reporting a lack of hand sanitiser at the local health clinic and insufficient information about the disease. Yuendumu, about 300km from Alice Springs, has seen a cluster of cases among its 700 residents.
More than 240 cases of diphtheria have been reported in Australia since October, primarily in remote Indigenous communities. Locals in Yuendumu say the health clinic is often unsanitary and lacks hand sanitiser. Despite NT Health providing resources in Indigenous languages, including Warlpiri, residents say there is limited understanding of the disease.
Warlpiri man Eugene Penhall told Guardian Australia that locals were frustrated with the lack of information, especially given overcrowded housing. “How we live as Aboriginal people, we have 10 people in one house. They could be carrying this thing that we don’t even know about,” he said. He only learned of the outbreak when visiting the clinic for another reason.
Another local, Ryan Woods, said the Royal Flying Doctor Service now flies into the community daily, compared with weekly visits before the outbreak. He reported relatives being infected but said there was “no information on how we can stay away from it”. NT Health did not respond to claims about hand sanitiser or isolation guidance.
Julie Watson, a programs coordinator in Yuendumu, said residents were told to wait up to three weeks for test results, compared with four days at Alice Springs hospital. “People are being told to isolate but they are not being told how long,” she said. “There’s been no education whatsoever for community.”
