The Federal Government has established a new $8 million taskforce to treat the Virus HTLV-1 that has affected thousands of indigenous Australians.
The taskforce will consist of doctors, Aboriginal health specialists and all levels of government to focus on the blood-borne virus, which can cause a rapidly fatal form of leukemia, and debilitating spinal cord inflammation.
There is currently no strategy in Australia to prevent the virus which is transmitted through unprotected sex, blood contact and breastfeeding.