Asylum seekers arriving in Kent after crossing the Channel in small boats are to be offered a vaccine against diphtheria.

It is after cases of the disease were confirmed at the immigration processing centre at Manston.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says everyone arriving to claim asylum in the UK will also be given a course of antibiotics.

Diphtheria is a serious disease that usually begins with a sore throat and can quickly cause breathing problems.

The UKHSA says it can damage the heart and nervous system and, in severe cases, it can kill. The same bacteria can also cause nasty ulcers on the skin, particularly the legs.

As of Friday, 39 cases of the highly contagious disease had been confirmed in asylum seekers in England this year.

Diphtheria bacteria can live in the mouth, nose, throat or skin of people with the infection and is spread through close contact.

Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam, the UKHSA’s deputy director of public health programmes, confirmed work is ongoing with the Home Office to roll out vaccines and antibiotics at Manston.

She said: "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.

"We recommend that diphtheria vaccination and antibiotics are offered to people at the centre and all those who have moved on recently.

"This is currently being operationalised and we are working with the Home Office and the NHS to make this happen."

• What is the immigration processing centre at Manston and why is it so controversial?

The processing site in Thanet has been criticised in recent weeks and conditions inside were said to be 'inhumane'.

Protesters have staged several demonstrations outside calling for the centre to be closed down.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick have both visited the facility to see the conditions for themselves.

At one stage the number of people being held there rose to 4,000 as many were moved from a site in Dover following a firebomb attack.

The site is designed to hold 1,600 asylum seekers.

The Home Office confirmed this week that the population of the Manston facility had been reduced and returned to normal levels.