Australia has recorded 230 cases of diphtheria and one related death this year. The outbreak is concentrated in remote Indigenous communities across several states.
Diphtheria cases have surged for the first time since widespread vaccination began in the 1930s. Previously the country saw zero or near-zero cases annually. Most infections have occurred in Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, with smaller numbers in Queensland and South Australia.
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The Health Ministry temporarily suspended vaccination with the Butantan Institute's vaccine after recording 42 cases of serious adverse reactions, including three severe cases and two deaths under investigation.
The World Health Organization has declared a public health emergency over an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The move comes as researchers urge faster development of vaccines for lesser-known Ebola strains.
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DNA analysis has revealed the earliest known outbreak of plague more than 5000 years ago among hunter-gatherers near Lake Baikal in Siberia. The finding challenges long-held views that major disease outbreaks began only after the rise of farming.