Asylum seekers had ‘contracted diphtheria overseas’ says minister
The dozens of asylum seekers who have contracted diphtheria had the highly-contagious disease before arriving in the UK, a Cabinet minister has said after the death of a man held at the Manston processing centre.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper insisted the infections present an “extremely low risk” to the wider public despite migrants being moved fromcrowdedfacilitiestohotels around the country.
He defended the Government’s handling of people who have crossed the Channel in small boats, ahead of officials being expected to confirm that the number of infections has risen to about 50.
The Home Office said the death of a man, held potentially unlawfully at the Manston centre in Kent for a week, may have been from a diphtheria infection.
Mr Harper said: “On the diphtheria issue, there’s extremely low risk to the wider community, that’s a disease which of course the vaccination for which is in the standard childhood vaccination package.
“We take the welfare of people in our care very seriously. My understanding is those cases were people who had that disease before they came to the United Kingdom.”
He insisted the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is working “very closely” with the Nhs“tomakesurewelookafter thepeoplewhohavebeenidentified with diphtheria to make sure they get the treatment and the care they need”.
Health officials believe the timings of testing and the onset
of symptoms indicates all cases were caught abroad, but they couldnotruleouttransmission in migrant centres.
Themanheldatmanstondied in hospital on November 19. He is believed to have entered the UK on a small boat seven days earlier.
Initial tests on the man at a hospital near the centre, where Home Secretary Suella Braverman has faced criticism about overcrowding and outbreaks of disease, came back negative.
The Government said on Saturday that a follow-up PCR test indicated that “diphtheria may be the cause of the illness”.
Public health experts have raised concerns about the spread of the highly-contagious disease as people were moved from the facility to hotels.
According to the Sunday Times, Jim Mcmanus, presidentoftheassociationofdirectorsofpublichealth,said:“this situationcouldandshouldhave
beenpreventedanditisentirely arguable that the lack of information, co-ordination and engagement from the Home Office has made the situation far worse than it could have been.”
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper demanded that Ms Braverman confirms whether everyone at Manston has been screened or vaccinated for diphtheria.
“Suella Braverman ignored both serious health advice
and repeated legal warnings about Manston. She failed to act,” the Labour MP said.
A Government spokeswoman said: “Our thoughts remain with the family of the man who has died and all those affected by this loss.
“We take the safety and welfare of those in our care extremelyseriouslyandaretakingallofthenecessarystepsfollowing these results.”