In this issue we get a wrap up of notifiable enteric diseases and gastrointestinal outbreaks reported in the NT in 2024. Salmonellosis rates were higher than the prior 2 years and have been consistently higher than the rest of the nation. There were 2 Salmonella Muenchen outbreaks - one associated with wild-hunted kangaroo and the other at a remote aged care facility. While amoebiasis can be acquired in the north of Australia, the 5 cases reported in 2024 in the NT were all acquired overseas. There were 2 NT Public Health Alerts issued in the first quarter of 2025. One focused on the ongoing syphilis outbreak and the other on an imported case of measles diagnosed in Darwin – the first case notified in the NT since 2019. Measles cases are currently reported in very large numbers in many neighbouring countries and already this year all Australian states and territories have notified cases. The message is to make sure you are measles immune. Measles vaccines in the NT are free for all those who are not immune. In the abstracts generated from NT peer-reviewed published articles 4 feature melioidosis. From them we learn of details of new and old diagnostics for melioidosis, the fact that melioidosis ‘is on-the-move’ and that melioidosis, leptospirosis and rickettsiosis are 3 bacterial diseases considered to be in a cycle of neglect globally.

Abstract: In 2024, there were 896 notifications of foodborne disease in the Northern Territory (NT) which was 11% less than the previous 5-year mean (5YM) of 1,008 notifications per year and 4% less than the number of notifications in 2023 (933 notifications). The most commonly notified foodborne disease was salmonellosis which accounted for 52% of all foodborne disease notifications followed by campylobacteriosis (31%) and shigellosis (12%). There were 211 notifications of non-foodborne enteric disease which was 23% less than the 5YM (273 notifications per year) and almost half the number of notifications received in 2023 (398 notifications). There were 5 notifications of amoebiasis in 2024 which is also the most notified in a single year in the NT; all were related to overseas travel to endemic countries; 3 (60%) had hepatic abscesses. There were 14 outbreak investigations undertaken in the NT in 2024; 3 of these outbreaks were suspected foodborne outbreaks, with the remainder likely due to person-to-person spread of viral illnesses. There were 2 outbreaks of Salmonella Muenchen; 1 associated with consumption of contaminated kangaroo meat and 1 likely associated with a contaminated stick blender.

The dengue mosquito, Aedes aegypti, which also can transmit other flaviviruses, was detected in Tennant Creek in February 2021, with a dedicated elimination program established immediately. The number of properties with detections of Ae. aegypti remained relatively low until December 2022. However, the program experienced a setback during the 6th round of property inspections and treatments in January and February 2023, with Ae. aegypti detected on 112 properties. The extensive breeding and subsequent dispersal of the dengue mosquito was most likely due to the extensive rainfall between October 2022 and March 2023.

ABSTRACT Measles is a highly contagious viral airborne disease, typically presenting with high fever, cough, conjunctivitis, and a maculopapular rash. No longer endemic in Australia, imported cases of measles do occur with a single case regarded as a public health emergency. In January 2025, a returned traveller with measles was notified to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in Darwin, Northern Territory (NT); the first case in the NT since 2019 to be notified. An outbreak team followed national public health response guidelines. We interviewed the case to determine travel history, infectious period, potential contacts, and provided isolation advice. The electronic database, Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap), was used for contact tracing to record contact details, vaccination status, and past infection history. A total of 162 contacts were identified. We successfully contacted and completed follow up for 94% (153/162) of contacts. Of the total 162 contacts, 84% (136/162) were considered to be immune to measles. Of those immune, 90% (123/136) had received 2 doses of the measles-containing vaccine; 7% (9/136) were born before 1966; and 3% (4/136) reported a previous measles infection as a child. During the response, 90% (146/162) of contacts were provided advice only with no further action required, and 2% (4/162) were provided the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) containing vaccine. Only 1 contact received normal human immunoglobulin (NHIG). The contact tracing was completed by 8 staff over a total of 12 hours on a weekend. We calculated the human resource cost for this outbreak response to be approximately $7,300. No further cases of measles were reported in the NT in the 2 months following this case notification. This outbreak response highlights how high immunisation rates and a rapid, co-ordinated response using familiar electronic management systems, and staff preparedness training are crucial in preventing the onward transmission of measles.