Who will treat the first patient of the next pandemic? A GP, probably.
Primary care will likely handle both the first cases and the lasting effects of the next global health crisis, chief health officer Professor Michael Kidd told delegates at the Rural Medicine Australia conference in Adelaide last week.
“The first indication of an emerging threat may come from you as a GP or an Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation worker, a nurse, a laboratory scientist, environmental health officer, or a vet who notices something unusual,” Professor Kidd said.
“You are the sentinels for public health in your local community. You pick up the early warning signs.
“You know trends to specific diseases, and you have to know that you have a voice in creating alerts when you see things which are not right.”
Preparing for potential health disasters like the 17 laid out in a recent report from the Lancet commission on 21st century global threats will take more than “lab tests and disease control”, the chief health officer said.
The threats identified by the Lancet ranged from antimicrobial resistance to climate change to obesity.
Two were singled out as having “extinction level” potential: the health consequences of nuclear conflict and malicious actors using AI to engineer bioweapons.
Professor Kidd, who had previously served as RACGP president, said he felt privileged to have the responsibility of being chief medical officer – and the first GP to be appointed to the role – at a time of rising threats to the health and well-being of the population.
“Last year in 2025, the Australian Health Protection Committee met three times to discuss major threats to the community in Australia,” he said.
“So far this year, we met 34 times, and that reflects a succession of national and global health emergency risks that have risen during this year, several which have required activation of our national incident centre, which sits in the Department of Health in in Canberra.”
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These included the global fuel shortage, the re-emergence of Ebola, the repatriation and quarantine of passengers aboard the Hantavirus affected cruise ship and the floods in Nepal.
There has also been a marked increase in the number of declarations of a communicable disease incident of national significance.
Prior to Professor Kidd taking up the CMO role last year, there had been just three of these declarations in the 21st century, all within the last six years: covid, mpox, and Japanese encephalitis.
“At times, it seems as if a new health threat has emerged every week,” Professor Kidd said.
In one of his first acts, Professor Kidd added syphilis to that list.
“This declaration followed a sustained decade-long rise in cases of infectious syphilis, with an increasing number of tragic cases of congenital syphilis and preventable infant deaths and lifelong disability for the babies who survive,” he said.
“Any discussion about primary care and rural health must, of course, also address the unacceptable inequities experienced by our nation’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“When I commenced as chief medical officer in June last year, my very first meeting with a stakeholder organisation was with the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, or NACCHO, and that was deliberate. I wanted to draw a line in the sand.”
ACHHOs, he said, had been “central” to the national syphilis response so far, particularly in screening pregnant women.
Professor Kidd also declared the Northern Territory, WA, and SA diphtheria outbreak a communicable disease incident of national significance.
“Primary care team members are often among the first to identify outbreaks and among the last to stop dealing with their effects,” he said.
“Strong national responses matter. Surveillance of public health intelligence matter. Clear clinical guidance matters. But our preparedness ultimately depends on capable, connected, local services.
“A resilient primary care system remains an essential part of Australia’s national health security, and you are all a critical part of our primary care system.”
RMA26, which was jointly hosted by ACRRM and the RDAA, was held between 22 and 24 October at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
