An asylum seeker housed in an Essex hotel has been placed in isolation after testing positive for tuberculosis (TB), a highly infectious and potentially life-threatening disease. The migrant, who arrived in the UK via a small boat, is now quarantined as a precautionary measure, the Home Office confirmed.
Health Screening and Response
All small-boat migrants undergo initial health screenings at Western Jet Foil in Dover and at Manston in Kent upon arrival. However, after the disease was contracted, the local NHS has provided healthcare to the unnamed hotel. The district council responsible for the affected hotel declined to comment, as reported by The Sun.
TB is a serious bacterial infection that primarily targets the lungs. It spreads through the air via tiny droplets when an infected person with active symptoms coughs or sneezes. While treatable with antibiotics, if left untreated, it can be life-threatening. If the infection spreads to the brain, it can cause a severe condition known as TB meningitis.
Notifiable Disease and Rising Cases
Because of its severity, TB is classified as a notifiable disease in the UK. Healthcare professionals are legally required to report all suspected or confirmed cases to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to help contain potential outbreaks.
While the World Health Organisation (WHO) still classifies the UK as a "low incidence" country for TB, cases have recently been climbing. The latest data show that TB cases in England surged by 13.6% in 2024, with notifications rising to 5,490 from 4,831 the previous year. The UKHSA noted that 82% of these cases occurred in individuals born outside the UK. In these instances, individuals often migrated with latent (dormant) TB, which later developed into an active infection.
Previous Outbreak at RAF Wethersfield
This incident comes three years after a prominent outbreak of TB began at a former RAF site, also in Essex, which was being used by the government to house migrants. When RAF Wethersfield was repurposed by the Home Office to house hundreds of single male asylum seekers, the dense and communal living conditions quickly became a breeding ground for infectious diseases.
Health monitoring at the remote camp revealed that multiple residents had contracted tuberculosis, sparking urgent containment protocols. The UKHSA and local NHS teams had to rapidly deploy mobile screening units and implement isolation measures to prevent a wider outbreak. Public health experts noted that many individuals had arrived at the facility carrying latent (dormant) TB from their home countries or arduous travel routes, which then turned active due to the intense stress and close quarters of the camp environment.
The Home Office did not confirm how many asylum seekers caught TB at MDP Wethersfield, near Braintree, at the time.
