There has been an outbreak of diphtheria at an asylum seeker processing centre at a former MoD site in Kent. The Home Office refused to confirm the number of cases of diphtheria at Manston – an airfield in Ramsgate providing tented accommodation for about 3,000 people who have arrived in the UK on small boats – but said the number was “very small”. Diphtheria is a highly contagious infection that affects the skin, nose and throat. It can cause breathing difficulties and can be fatal without treatment. It is very rare in the UK and last year there were just 10 confirmed cases. A vaccination programme for the disease was introduced in the UK in 1942. Manston was originally designed to hold only 1,000 people and it will be of concern to public health officials that cases have been identified in a facility where people are sleeping close together on the floor in tents. Recently some people have been taken directly from Manston to airports for removal from the UK. It is not known if they were tested for the infection before leaving Manston. Home Office sources said that all cases had been treated with antibiotics and they had followed the isolation guidance required. The source added that the Home Office provided 24/7 health facilities at Manston as well as having robust contingency plans to deal with health issues such as communicable diseases. Diphtheria is not the only reported infection on site. There was previously an outbreak of norovirus, while scabies is widespread, according to asylum seekers who have been processed at Manston recently. An outbreak of diphtheria was reported in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh in 2017 and a mass vaccination programme was introduced. Stuart McDonald, the SNP MP for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East, is a member of the Home affairs select committee and visited Manston in June. “This is appalling news,” he said. “It’s gravely concerning and absolutely shocking. It should be top priority for the new home secretary. We need to completely rethink the strategy and get folk back into communities.” Clare Moseley, the founder of the charity Care4Calais, said: “When people arrive in Dover they are exhausted and suffering from exposure following what can be a 10-hour journey across the Channel. Petrol and salt burns are common. To leave them sleeping on the floor at Manston, cold and hungry, is a disgrace. The government is letting them and us down and must urgently do more.” The Home Office said: “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 the safety and welfare of those in our care extremely seriously and are working closely with health professionals and the UK Health Security Agency to ensure the instances are contained and to support the individuals affected.” Dr Liz Clark, a clinical adviser at the charity Medical Justice, said that news of the diphtheria outbreak at Manston was “very worrying”. She said: “Most GPs in this country have never seen a case of diphtheria so I wonder how long it took to diagnose this. I have never seen a case. When people are living in not great conditions and in close proximity it is a massive task to trace everyone who may have come into contact with this.”