Diphtheria: cases among asylum seekers in England, monthly data tables
Updated 17 July 2025
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2025
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diphtheria-cases-among-asylum-seekers-in-england-2022/diphtheria-cases-among-asylum-seekers-in-england-weekly-data-tables
Confirmed toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae cases among asylum seekers in England 2022 and 2025, by month
The tables below show the number of confirmed diphtheria cases among asylum seekers in England by month of PCR confirmation by the National Diphtheria Reference Laboratory (RVPBRU) and by region at point of testing.
Data as of June 2025
Table 1: Number of confirmed toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers in England by month of PCR confirmation
| Year | Month of reporting | Total number of cases reported | Cumulative total of cases for 2022 to June 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | January | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | February | 1 | 1 |
| 2022 | March | 0 | 1 |
| 2022 | April | 0 | 1 |
| 2022 | May | 0 | 1 |
| 2022 | June | 1 | 2 |
| 2022 | July | 1 | 3 |
| 2022 | August | 1 | 4 |
| 2022 | September | 1 | 5 |
| 2022 | October | 18 | 23 |
| 2022 | November | 32 | 55 |
| 2022 | December | 18 (note 1) | 73 |
| 2023 | January | 1 | 74 |
| 2023 | February | 0 | 74 |
| 2023 | March | 0 | 74 |
| 2023 | April | 0 | 74 |
| 2023 | May | 0 | 74 |
| 2023 | June | 0 | 74 |
| 2023 | July | 0 | 74 |
| 2023 | August | 3 | 77 |
| 2023 | September | 7 | 84 |
| 2023 | October | 2 | 86 |
| 2023 | November | 0 | 86 |
| 2023 | December | 0 | 86 |
| 2024 | January to March | 0 | 86 |
| 2024 | April to June | 0 | 86 |
| 2024 | July to September | 0 | 86 |
| 2024 | October to December | 0 | 86 |
| 2025 | January to March | 0 | 86 |
| 2025 | April to June | 2 | 88 |
Note 1: Includes one probable case clinically compatible with diphtheria but without laboratory confirmation.
Table 2: Number of confirmed toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers in England by region (at point of testing)
| Region | Total number of cases reported (as of June 2025) (note 2) |
|---|---|
| South East | 66 |
| East of England | <5 |
| West Midlands | 5 |
| South West | <5 |
| North East | <5 |
| North West | <5 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | <5 |
| London | 6 |
| Total | 88 (note 3) |
Note 2: Data has been masked to maintain confidentiality due to the risk of deductive disclosure posed by small population sizes. Numbers between 1 and 4 are masked as ‘<5’.
Note 3: Includes one probable case clinically compatible with diphtheria but from whom C. diphtheriae was not isolated at local testing.
Please note that this page will be updated every quarter. The next scheduled update will be on 23 October 2025.
Source: UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)