Australia has recorded its first diphtheria death in nearly a decade, proving that even forgotten diseases can make a comeback if you ignore them long enough. The country is currently grappling with its worst outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease since 1991.

In March, the Northern Territory (NT) declared an outbreak, with cases also popping up in Western Australia, South Australia, and Queensland. Cases started rising in late 2025 and spiked sharply in February. This year, there have been 245 cases, mainly in remote Indigenous communities - because nothing says 'public health crisis' like a disease we have a vaccine for.

On Tuesday, NT Health Minister Steve Edgington announced that autopsy results from an overseas lab confirmed diphtheria killed a man in April at Royal Darwin Hospital, the first such death since 2018. “Our government has taken this situation very seriously, and we are working hard to understand the causes and working to contain the situation,” Edgington said, presumably while someone handed him a vaccination schedule.

The government has ramped up vaccination efforts, administering 10,407 shots since March 30. Between January last year and May this year, the NT reported 163 diphtheria cases - 48 respiratory and 115 cutaneous (the kind spread via skin contact, because diphtheria also wants to be inclusive). In March, Western Australia confirmed two respiratory cases, its first in over 50 years, proving that some records are best left unbroken.

Sixty percent of this year's cases are in the NT, followed by Western Australia at 36%, with a few in South Australia and even fewer in Queensland. Authorities are urging affected communities to update vaccinations, especially teenagers and adults who need boosters. Pop-up clinics have appeared in Darwin, Katherine, and Alice Springs to raise awareness, because nothing says 'we care' like a tent offering shots.

Both respiratory and cutaneous diphtheria are preventable via a vaccine - typically five doses between two months and four years old, with a booster at 12-13 years. Respiratory diphtheria starts with fever or chills and a sore throat that can become life-threatening; cutaneous diphtheria causes slow-healing sores but rarely severe illness. Last week, Australia's Chief Medical Officer Prof Michael Kidd declared it a communicable disease incident of national significance, and the government announced a AU$7.2 million package to boost vaccinations and resources. Better late than never, though the disease might disagree.