Diphtheria outbreak: residents of remote NT community say health clinic has no hand sanitiser

A remote Aboriginal community at the centre of the Northern Territory’s diphtheria outbreak is struggling to cope with rising case numbers, with locals saying there is no hand sanitiser at the health clinic and limited information about how to avoid the disease or what to do if you test positive. There have been more than 240 cases of the once-eradicated disease reported in Australia since October, primarily in remote Indigenous communities in the NT, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia , according to data released by the Australian Centre for Disease Control. One of the largest clusters in the NT is in Yuendumu, a community of about 700 people 300km from Alice Springs. Yuendumu has a health clinic and community health centre but several locals have told Guardian Australia that the health clinic is often in an “unsanitary” state, with no hand sanitiser available. Despite the Territory government providing resources in several Indigenous languages, including Warlpiri, the language spoken in Yuendumu, locals say there is limited understanding about the disease in the community and little visibility of public health information. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Warlpiri man Eugene Penhall told Guardian Australia that locals were frustrated with the lack of information, particularly information that was applicable to daily life in a community where housing is overcrowded and living standards are poor . …