Are illegals making U.S. a leper colony?

[Legion]

'This is a real phenomenon. It's a public health threat. New York is endemic now, and nobody's noticed'
Posted: May 22, 2005
5:11 p.m. Eastern


© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Leprosy, the contagious skin disease evoking thoughts of biblical and medieval times, is now making its mark in the United States, and many believe the influx of illegal aliens is a main factor.

"Americans should be told that diseases long eradicated in this country – tuberculosis, leprosy, polio, for example – and other extremely contagious diseases have been linked directly to illegals," Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., told the Business Journal of Phoenix. "For example, in 40 years, only 900 persons were afflicted by leprosy in the U.S.; in the past three years, more than 7,000 cases have been presented."

"This emerging crisis exposes the upside-down thinking of federal immigration policy," he continued. "While legal immigrants must undergo health screening prior to entering the U.S., illegal immigrants far more likely to be carrying contagious diseases are crawling under that safeguard and going undetected until they infect extraordinary numbers of American residents."

The number of cases of leprosy, now known as Hansen's disease, among immigrants to the U.S. has more than doubled since 2000, according to a news report from Columbia University.

While the overall figure is small compared to other countries, some researchers fear the trend could lead to the disease spreading to the U.S.-born population.

"It's creeping into the U.S.," Dr. William Levis, head of the New York Hansen's Disease Clinic, told Columbia News Service. "This is a real phenomenon. It's a public health threat. New York is endemic now, and nobody's noticed."

Levis thinks America could be on the verge of an epidemic.

"We just don't know when these epidemics are going to occur," he said. "But we're on the cusp of it here, because we're starting to see endemic cases that we didn't see 25 years ago."

According to Steve Pfeifer, head of statistics and epidemiology at the National Hansen's Disease Program, only about two dozen new cases are found each year in U.S.-born patients, with that number remaining stable for decades.

But Pfeifer suggests many aliens are coming to the U.S. specifically to get treated for their skin condition, due to the short time between many immigrants' entry to the U.S. and their diagnosis with leprosy.

"They're coming to be treated because they get treatment free and probably get better treatment here," he told Columbia. "Somebody down there diagnoses them and says, 'Hey, you've got leprosy, and your best course of action is probably high-tailing to the U.S.'"

http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44394

[Werewolf01]

Well doesn't that just improve my bloody day. :|

[Bluezoo]

'This is a real phenomenon. It's a public health threat. New York is endemic now, and nobody's noticed'
Posted: May 22, 2005
5:11 p.m. Eastern


© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com



"This emerging crisis exposes the upside-down thinking of federal immigration policy," he continued. "While legal immigrants must undergo health screening prior to entering the U.S., illegal immigrants far more likely to be carrying contagious diseases are crawling under that safeguard and going undetected until they infect extraordinary numbers of American residents."


http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44394

Good point.

Damn, this is a bad development. :|

[Bronson]

The vast majority of humans (for instance, http://www.leprosy.org/LEPfaq.html gives 95%) are already immune to leprosy, and it doesn't transmit very well:


M. leprae is transmitted primarily through coughing and sneezing. Bacilli are discharged, perhaps on droplets or dust particles that others inhale.

Hmm. About as contagious as a flu that 95% of people are immune to...except nobody is actually immune to the real flu, and the flu kills thousands of Americans every year. We'd be preparing for the wrong epidemic. Scratch that; we ARE preparing for the wrong epidemic. It won't be Ebola; it'll be the same thing that killed millions in 1918. Influenza.

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

Well folks its in Worldnetdaily, which seems to like putting the fear into the God fearing whenever it can, increased migration and travel in this modern world will expose us to many nasties. Leprosy has never been eradicated in the West its just not that common, TB however is making a big come back, it rode in on the back of AIDS in the 80's in NY city, TB had always been a big problem amongst the US North East coast vagrant population.

[Bronson]

From the World Health Organization:


In 2002, WHO listed Brazil, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Nepal as having 90% of cases.

Ah yes, all those illegal immigrants who arrive in the States from Nepal are putting us at risk.

Luckily, leprosy is easily treatable. It's a fascinating disease, but sleep soundly, Americans, because even if somehow one of those two dozen cases for this year coughs on you, you'll get the help you need in any one of our quality healthcare facilities. Go team!

[fremen]

Everybody panick! Run for the hills! Ahhhhhhhhh!!!
Does that report say anything about satan or them briging in their black cats?

[vryhpyammoadded]

Yes leprosy is bad but what has bothered me more is that strain of resistant Tuberculosis from Kazakhstan that keeps popping up on the CDC radar now and then. I hope the world health people get a grip on that nasty bugger soon and kill it.

Then again, have you been to a US hospital recently? We have our own nasty home brew resistant strep bug that’s pure living hell when you catch it. I caught it after taking my daughter in for a checkup and a day or so later went from scratchy throat to a 104 fever in under 30 min. Nothing the doctors threw at it seemed to put a dent in it. It was bad!

[Legion]

Ahhh yes. Lets just gloss over this part of the story.

"Americans should be told that diseases long eradicated in this country – tuberculosis, leprosy, polio, for example – and other extremely contagious diseases have been linked directly to illegals," Rep. J.D. Hayworth, R-Ariz., told the Business Journal of Phoenix.

Hahaha! TB, who worry's about that! :roll:


Higher disease rates attributed to influx of illegals
By Angela Gonzales and Mike Sunnucks
The Business Journal of Phoenix
Updated: 8:00 p.m. ET May 15, 2005

Arizona hospitals and doctors are worried about the resurgence of some serious infectious diseases, and some believe illegal immigrants are the cause.

A rise in diseases such as whooping cough, tuberculosis, malaria, measles and even leprosy are creating public health concerns and could hit hospitals and health care systems already financially burdened by indigent illegals flooding emergency rooms and urgent care centers.

The resurgence also is fueling conservative calls for tougher border security and could cause problems for Arizona industries that rely on migrant workers for jobs in food services, construction, tourism and agriculture.

The Maricopa County Health Department reported earlier this month a 100 percent increase in the number of cases of whooping cough (pertussis) over the past year.
TB concerns grow

Hospitals and health care professionals also are concerned about Mexican immigrants bringing tuberculosis with them to border states such as Arizona.

"I've been in practice in Arizona for 25 years," said Dr. Tim Kuberski, president of the Arizona Infectious Disease Society. "The one disease that is most often associated with undocumented aliens is tuberculosis because there is a resurgence in the number of cases of TB."

The federal government reports that while TB is on the decline nationally, Hispanics are the most-likely ethnic group to have the disease, and high TB rates in Mexican border areas are a big concern.

Recent federal reports found that Mexican border regions have high rates of infectious diseases and that half of U.S. TB cases are from immigrants.

TB rates in U.S. border regions, including Arizona, are "roughly double the national rate, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The department reports the TB rate for Mexican border areas is greater than the Mexican national rate.

Greg Padilla, chief executive of Maryvale Hospital Medical Center, agreed.

"Typically, TB shows up in a lot of border cities," he said.

Limited health care access, lack of vaccinations, migratory population movements and poor living conditions all encourage the spread of TB and limit its treatment in border areas.

There were 14,500 TB cases in the U.S. last year. Mexico has 16,000 cases annually, with one quarter coming from border areas. The U.S. has a population of 296 million; Mexico 106 million persons.

Dr. Fritz Bredeek, an infectious disease specialist with El Rio Special Immunology Associates in Tucson, said tuberculosis is his biggest concern when it comes to people crossing the border illegally and bringing their diseases into the U.S.

"Tuberculosis is a contagious disease brought in from any poor country because TB is in countries with a poor health care structure, whether that is in Mexico or Eastern Europe or Asia or Africa," Bredeek said. "So that's certainly an infectious disease we do see."

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7869046

[2Sheds_Jackson]

I'm not a doctor - but I was raised in a family of them. They taught at Harvard Medical & worked for the government in a public health capacity - so I absorbed a lot by osmosis. I have only a vague idea of where to find the medula oblongata in Gray's Anatomy, but at least I know that I have one.

This issue is a real concern IMHO. Way back when, people would drop dead from common diseases all the time. Immunizations were developed that helped us avoid, and sometimes downright eradicate diseases from our population. But then something happened - people started to notice that nobody gets Polio or TB any more. Parents began to consider the risks of vaccination to outweigh the benefits. In 1930 you stood a good chance of getting one of these, so you got your kid immunized. No so any more - I know a lot of parents who have gotten on the "no vaccination" bandwagon. I think they're idiots who are basically depending upon all the rest of use to vaccinate ourselves to keep them safe.

Well, these illegals can represent a very real danger of reintroducing diseases that have not been present here. Most of us over 30 (who've presumably been vaccinated) probably aren't at risk for much -except perhaps for the odd new strains of things out there. But un-immunized kids in school or in daycare with these illegals could be just asking for trouble. The illegal population is like introducing a match into a room full of newspaper. The newspaper is fine until that match is struck, but afterwards -

Any folks here with medical training care to venture an opinion?

[California Joe]

Seoulstroker is probably busy doing wang research for Jack's next *****, or lack thereof thread.

On a related note, my moron mother in law was all excited about the fact that she has a stash of penecillin with which to self medicate anything she diagnoses as worthy and the best part was she bought it real cheap in Mexico. :cantbeli: She also was worried that she might catch a flu that was floating around here and it would ruin the trip to florida they had planned so she got my sister in law to give her some old antibiotics she had for an unspecified condition that she couldn't take cause they upset her stomach. Morons.

[budgie]

"Illegals" are helping to prop up your economy. Who else is gonna pick strawberries, cotton and tobacco for a dollar a day?

[California Joe]

*doing the black girl on Rikki Lake head thing*

"OH NO, he did not just say dat"

[king_nothing100]

Spare a sheckel for an old ex-lepper?

[stoked]

Yes, in more than one way. We get all the criminals and cop killers too. Bet that ain't cheap.

[BigBaribal]

"Illegals" are helping to prop up your economy. Who else is gonna pick strawberries, cotton and tobacco for a dollar a day?


"Cheap labor" only serves the elits; on the contrary, the middle-class of any country has everything to lose from massive alien immigration. Just as an example, buy a flat in a non-diverse area and try to sell it again, when the area has been "enriched" by the diversity. You will see if you or your banker appreciate the joke.

[stoked]

Yeah, cheap labor all right. All the illegals drive better cars than I do. The thing they go around with now are SUV's and cell phones (I don't even have a cell phone). Bet that ain't cheap.

[Legion]

Seoulstroker is probably busy doing wang research for Jack's next *****, or lack thereof thread.

On a related note, my moron mother in law was all excited about the fact that she has a stash of penecillin with which to self medicate anything she diagnoses as worthy and the best part was she bought it real cheap in Mexico. :cantbeli: She also was worried that she might catch a flu that was floating around here and it would ruin the trip to florida they had planned so she got my sister in law to give her some old antibiotics she had for an unspecified condition that she couldn't take cause they upset her stomach. Morons.

That's funny, my mother-in-law and her braniac husband suffer from the same unspecified condition that is treated with Mexican antibiotics. :roll:

On the other hand the cheap no prescription Valium from Matamoros... p-)

[2Sheds_Jackson]

Seoulstroker is probably busy doing wang research for Jack's next *****, or lack thereof thread.

On a related note, my moron mother in law was all excited about the fact that she has a stash of penecillin with which to self medicate anything she diagnoses as worthy and the best part was she bought it real cheap in Mexico. :cantbeli: She also was worried that she might catch a flu that was floating around here and it would ruin the trip to florida they had planned so she got my sister in law to give her some old antibiotics she had for an unspecified condition that she couldn't take cause they upset her stomach. Morons.

Ah yes, the ol' "virus treated with antibiotics" theory. Works every time. Hey, I just drink a quart of Mexican cough syrup, and though it doesn't cure me, I no longer care that I'm sick.

[Legion]

Seoulstroker is probably busy doing wang research for Jack's next *****, or lack thereof thread.

On a related note, my moron mother in law was all excited about the fact that she has a stash of penecillin with which to self medicate anything she diagnoses as worthy and the best part was she bought it real cheap in Mexico. :cantbeli: She also was worried that she might catch a flu that was floating around here and it would ruin the trip to florida they had planned so she got my sister in law to give her some old antibiotics she had for an unspecified condition that she couldn't take cause they upset her stomach. Morons.

Ah yes, the ol' "virus treated with antibiotics" theory. Works every time. Hey, I just drink a quart of Mexican cough syrup, and though it doesn't cure me, I no longer care that I'm sick.

Mexican cough syrup = Tequila ?