Diphtheria: Highly Contagious Disease On The Rise Among U.K. Asylum Seekers

Suspected cases of a highy contagious and potentially deadly disease have risen to more than 70 among asylum seekers in England, a national newspaper reports.

Many of these had been moved from the Manston detention centre near the south coast to hotels around Britain, the Sunday Times says.

Intense overcrowding at the temporary holding facility led officials to empty the centre earlier this month. Opened in February to hold 1,600 people for short periods of time, the former military base was housing up to 4,000 asylum seekers at once in October, according to the BBC.

On Saturday, the Home Office confirmed an asylum seeker who passed away after staying at the facility had tested positive for diphtheria. But officials haven’t yet determined if the disease caused his death.

The Guardian and the BBC say officials are set to announce around 50 cases of diphtheria have been confirmed in asylum seekers this year. It is not known how many of these cases are linked to Manston.

The bacterial disease is transmitted by coughs and sneezes or by contact with infected wounds. It can affect the skin, or lead to symptoms like breathing problems, weakness and organ damage, depending on the site of infection. It’s usually treated with antibiotics and antitoxins, but can still result in death.

Children in the U.K. are typically vaccinated against the disease, keeping the risk to the general public low. But many asylum seekers will not have this protection.

Earlier this month, officials said they would vaccinate thousands of refugees after reports of the disease emerged at Manston.

Diphtheria has been on the rise in migrant facilities across Europe this year, with the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention recently advising centres to take protective measures like vaccinating asylum seekers who have not received the shots before.

Just one case was recorded in the U.K. back in 2020, the BBC reports.

Jim McManus, president of the Association of Directors of Public Health, told the Sunday Times that rapidly moving people from Manston “had put asylum seekers and potentially hotel workers at avoidable and preventable risk” and had “created additional and preventable burdens on local health system.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We work closely with a range of partners within the community including local authorities and health leads to make sure information is shared in a timely way and that everyone leaving Manston is given access to appropriate treatment.

“As the UK Health Security Agency have made clear, the risk of diphtheria to the public is very low, due to high uptake of the diphtheria vaccine in this country and because the infection is typically passed on through close prolonged contact with a case.

“We take both the welfare of those in our care and our wider public health responsibilities extremely seriously. As such, we continue to work closely with the NHS and UKHSA to support the individuals affected and limit the transmission of infection.”