People stand inside a fenced off area inside the migrant processing centre in Manston
(Picture: REUTERS)Cases of diptheria have increased among asylum seekers arriving in the UK, according to the Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
A report published on Monday said there were 50 cases between January 1 and November 25 involving migrants recently arrived in England
Two cases were judged to be “severe” and needed hospitalisation and “treatment with diptheria anti-toxin and antibiotics” and there was one death where a test confirmed the disease though a post-mortem has still to confirm the cause of death.
Diphtheria is an infectious disease that affects the upper respiratory tract and occasionally the skin but vaccines are available to protect people against it.
Trish Mannes, UKHSA Director for the South East, said: “In order to limit the risk of diphtheria being passed on within asylum seeker settings, UKHSA continues to recommend that individuals arriving at Reception Centres, and who have moved on recently, are offered a diphtheria vaccine and preventative treatment.”
It comes after the death of a man at the Manston Centre in Kent which may have been from diptheria.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “We vaccinated a range of people at Manston before they were moved, so that was part of the targeted action that UKHSA put in place.”
He added: “Clearly within the population as a whole it’s very low risk, because there’s very high uptake of vaccinations within the local population, but we’re monitoring it closely and that’s why so many people were vaccinated – 500 were vaccinated before they left Manston.”
Asked about the risk to the general public, he added: “The risk is very low, partly because there is very high uptake of vaccination within the British public in the first place.
“But also we had a targeted action of vaccinations at Manston and so 500 people were vaccinated before they actually left Manston, and it’s something that UKHSA are monitoring extremely closely.”
The man held at Manston died in hospital on November 19. He is believed to have entered the UK on a small boat seven days earlier.
