The diphtheria outbreak in the Northern Territory which has overwhelmingly impacted Aboriginal communities has caused at least one death, the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress reports.
Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease and last caused a death in Australia almost ten years ago.
The Territory's Health Department declared an outbreak of the disease in March, the first diphtheria outbreak in Australia for about three decades.
Australian Centre for Disease Control data indicates the vast majority of locally acquired cases are residents in "outer regional", remote or very remote areas and more than 98 per cent of cases are Indigenous.
The strain of respiratory diphtheria can be deadly if left untreated. Congress' chief medical officer of public health, Dr John Boffa, says federal resources are needed now to deliver vaccinations and booster shots to stem the spread of the disease.
Dr Boffa told the ABC the death occurred a number of weeks ago in a remote area.
The Centre for Disease Control told the national broadcaster on Friday it was "aware of media reports of a fatal case of diphtheria in the Northern Territory".
"Investigations into the death are still underway by the NT Government," the Centre said.
Dr Boffa told the ABC the disease was spreading across the Territory, with current case numbers of respiratory diphtheria and cutaneous diphtheria surpassing 100 and a number of people being admitted to intensive care.
He said the majority of the people becoming "seriously sick" after contracting diphtheria were either unvaccinated or had not received a booster in the recommended time frame.
The death in 2018, the last recorded before this outbreak, involved an unvaccinated adult.
Cases have been recorded in Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia, with a total of 161 testing positive for diphtheria nationwide.
While there is a high vaccine coverage rate among children, Dr Boffa said teenagers and adults needed to receive booster shots.
"Some late adolescents are getting sick because they haven't had a dose since they were children and they have missed their dose at 12 years old," he told the ABC.
"And adults need a booster now if it's been more than five years."
Dr Boffa said federal resources were "on the way" to assist with delivering vaccinations and boosters, particularly to vulnerable populations, with "a very significant additional contribution" from the Commonwealth expected over the next six months.
Dr Boffa said the outbreak was placing added pressure on clinics "which are struggling anyway to deliver routine primary healthcare".
"We don't want to have to divert essential primary healthcare resources into this, but right now we have to because we don't have a surge workforce or additional resources," he said.
A spokesperson from the federal Department of Health, Disability and Ageing told the ABC the federal government has been working with the NT government, the Australian Health Protection Committee, and the Aboriginal community controlled health sector on "a range of measures to support the response to Diphtheria in the NT".
