CANBERRA, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Aboriginal groups in Australia's Northern Territory have tentatively welcomed a federal government pledge to combat the deadly virus HTLV-1 which is rampant in many outback communities.
The Turnbull coalition government committed on Friday 6 million U.S. dollars to research the virus which is affecting many central Australian communities at a rate 1,000 times worse than seen anywhere else in the world.
Australia's biggest Aboriginal community-controlled health organization said on Monday the funding program was good news, but more input was needed from Aboriginal people.
"The role of Aboriginal people is critical in shaping the response and it cannot be left to a taskforce of experts alone," said Australian Aboriginal Congress chief executive Donna Ah Chee.
"There must be respect for local knowledge, promoting culturally acceptable and appropriate health information and care," she said.
"There has been much publicity on this in recent weeks and now it is time to take stock and carefully consider the issue."
There is currently no strategy in Australia to prevent the ancient virus, transmitted by unprotected sex, blood contact and breastfeeding, which can cause a rapidly fatal form of leukaemia, and debilitating spinal cord inflammation.
As the Australian Broadcasting Corporation revealed in April that research suggests thousands of Indigenous people in Central Australia unknowingly carried HTLV-1, or human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1, which can cause serious disease in 5 to 10 percent of carriers.
Clinicians have expressed alarm at the high rates of the virus in central Australia and the Congress is working with the Central Australia Academic Health Science Centre to discuss appropriate responses to HTLV-1, bringing together Aboriginal health services, Alice Springs Hospital, key research institutions and invited experts.
"We want to achieve consensus on the current state of knowledge, identify gaps in knowledge that require further research and consider whether there is a need to change current clinical guidelines for health practitioners in relation to HTLV-1," Ah Chee said on Monday.
"As long as this new funding announcement can assist us to do what is needed then it is a very welcome announcement."
The task force will bring together Aboriginal communities, relevant health providers, researchers, clinicians and all levels of government "to look at HTLV-1 and other emerging communicable diseases in remote communities," said Health Minister Greg Hunt.
