Health authorities are working to contain an outbreak of tuberculosis on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands.
So far, the SA TB Service has diagnosed 10 cases linked to the outbreak.
South Australia's Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier and other health officials travelled to the APY Lands this week to try and contain the outbreak through contact tracing and treatment.
Professor Spurrier said she had met with community leaders and service providers, including schools.
"Tuberculosis is not commonly seen in Australia but is treatable and preventable. It will need a sustained response over a prolonged period," she said.
"Strong relationships with community allowing co-design are essential.
"It's important that all people in the community have the information they need to prevent the cluster from growing and to facilitate quick testing and treatment."
SA TB Services clinical director Simone Barry said she had been conducting screening of high-risk contacts in and around Pukatja and reviewing known cases.
"This has included the use of a new fully portable chest X-ray unit generously funded by the Hospital Research Foundation, allowing us to take the screening to remote communities," she said.
"We have joined the Aboriginal Public Health team at community forums to answer questions and concerns."
TB is caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which usually infects the lungs and spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported the number of people killed by TB had risen for the first time in more than a decade.
In 2020, 1.5 million people worldwide died from the bacterial disease, compared to 1.4 million deaths in 2019.
However, WHO found far fewer people were newly diagnosed with TB in 2020, attributed to a drop in global efforts against TB as attention and funding were diverted to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
