Fifty migrants who have arrived in the UK this year have been diagnosed with diphtheria, the immigration minister has revealed, with the vast majority being reported in the last two months.
Robert Jenrick told MPs that the number has increased significantly since he first gave an update on 1 November.
The latest UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data identified 18 new diphtheria cases in October and 27 so far this month – with a total of 50 cases since February this year.
There was one case each in February, June, July, August and September.
The immigration minister said the UKHSA found the cases, which were across different asylum accommodations, had developed before the migrants had entered the UK, either in their country of origin or on their journey through Europe.
Read more: What is diphtheria, what are the symptoms and how does it spread?
“It’s important to emphasise that the UKHSA has been clear that the risk to the wider UK population from onward transmission of…
