Diphtheria vaccines ordered at Manston migrant processing centre after cases confirmed

People thought to be migrants pass the car of Home Secretary Suella Braverman (left) during her visit to the Manston immigration short-term holding facility.

Migrants at the Manston processing centre will be vaccinated against diphtheria after dozens of cases of the highly contagious disease were confirmed in England.

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick said 12 days ago that just four cases had been identified at the site in Kent but insisted those involved had arrived at Manston already infected. He said reports of diphtheria, MRSA and scabies at the centre had been “exaggerated”.

Conditions at the former military base have been condemned after it emerged 4,000 migrants were being held for weeks at a time despite it being intended for a maximum of 1,600 short-stays. Home Secretary Suella Braverman was accused of refusing to find alternative accommodation despite the overcrowding being potentially unlawful.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) yesterday confirmed migrants at the centre would be vaccinated following a spike in infections, with 39 diphtheria cases identified in asylum seekers in England this year, and warned accommodation settings should be considered “high-risk for infectious diseases”. The Government agency said that in many cases the illness had been contracted abroad and carried into the UK.

Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, the UKHSA’s deputy director of public health programmes, said work was ongoing to roll out vaccines and antibiotics at Manston. “The UKHSA has been working closely with the Home Office at the Manston reception centre where there have been a number of cases of diphtheria and other infections,” she said. “We recommend diphtheria vaccination and antibiotics are offered to people at the centre and all those who have moved on recently.”

The Home Office confirmed it was working alongside the UKHSA and NHS to provide vaccines but stressed the number of migrants affected at Manston was “very small”.

A national briefing has also been sent to NHS staff to “highlight the importance of early diagnosis and prompt treatment of suspected cases”.

The Home Office added: “We are aware of a very small number of cases of diphtheria reported at Manston. Full medical guidance and protocols have been followed. We take both the welfare of those in our care and our wider public health responsibilities extremely seriously.”