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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-...-syphilis-outbreak-northern-australia/6900568
The NT's Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said there had been 134 reported cases of the sexually transmitted disease in the Central Australia, Barkly and Katherine regions since July last year.
Worst syphilis outbreak in 30 years sparks concern across northern Australia
By Erin Parke
Updated 1 Nov 2015, 12:16pm
PHOTO: Condom wallets like this one will be passed out at Kimberley rodeos to encourage young Aboriginal people to engage in safe sex. (ABC News: Erin Parke)
RELATED STORY: Syphilis outbreak among NT Indigenous youth prompts fears for unborn children
RELATED STORY: Warning over syphilis outbreak in Central Australia
MAP: Broome 6725
Health authorities are scrambling to contain an outbreak of syphilis that is believed to have claimed the lives of 10 babies across northern Australia.
Professor Basil Donovan, of the Sydney-based Kirby Institute, said while instances of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) were in decline, an outbreak that started in northern Queensland in 2011 had swept across the Top End.
"We got a large outbreak amongst very young people in the Gulf country in Queensland, and since that time it's turned up in the Katherine area of the Northern Territory and then swept across the Kimberley," he said.
"We worry because if pregnant women catch syphilis, the result is very frequently disastrous. It leads to loss of pregnancy, still-births, [births] of very disabled babies."
Professor Donovan said 10 babies had died as a result of congenital syphilis since the outbreak began.
"A rich country like Australia, shouldn't really be seeing any deaths," he said.
The Kirby Institute's national surveillance system showed 2,000 new cases were diagnosed in 2014.
As of October 30, another 1,972 cases had been recorded in 2015, making it the most severe Australian outbreak in 30 years.
"It's frustrating. We've been putting in grant applications for years, trying to get research funding to address the issue, but unfortunately the funding bodies haven't seen it as a priority," he said.
The NT's Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said there had been 134 reported cases of the sexually transmitted disease in the Central Australia, Barkly and Katherine regions since July last year.
Worst syphilis outbreak in 30 years sparks concern across northern Australia
By Erin Parke
Updated 1 Nov 2015, 12:16pm
PHOTO: Condom wallets like this one will be passed out at Kimberley rodeos to encourage young Aboriginal people to engage in safe sex. (ABC News: Erin Parke)RELATED STORY: Syphilis outbreak among NT Indigenous youth prompts fears for unborn children
RELATED STORY: Warning over syphilis outbreak in Central Australia
MAP: Broome 6725
Health authorities are scrambling to contain an outbreak of syphilis that is believed to have claimed the lives of 10 babies across northern Australia.
Professor Basil Donovan, of the Sydney-based Kirby Institute, said while instances of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) were in decline, an outbreak that started in northern Queensland in 2011 had swept across the Top End.
"We got a large outbreak amongst very young people in the Gulf country in Queensland, and since that time it's turned up in the Katherine area of the Northern Territory and then swept across the Kimberley," he said.
"We worry because if pregnant women catch syphilis, the result is very frequently disastrous. It leads to loss of pregnancy, still-births, [births] of very disabled babies."
Professor Donovan said 10 babies had died as a result of congenital syphilis since the outbreak began.
"A rich country like Australia, shouldn't really be seeing any deaths," he said.
The Kirby Institute's national surveillance system showed 2,000 new cases were diagnosed in 2014.
As of October 30, another 1,972 cases had been recorded in 2015, making it the most severe Australian outbreak in 30 years.
"It's frustrating. We've been putting in grant applications for years, trying to get research funding to address the issue, but unfortunately the funding bodies haven't seen it as a priority," he said.