TB Cases Found Among Illegal Immigrants in El Paso

Three cases of tuberculosis have been identified among illegal immigrants in El Paso.

Tuberculosis is a serious and transmissible bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB can be found in the lungs, but it can also appear in other parts of the body. It may remain latent for many years without causing symptoms. It is alarming to know that a drug-resistant strain has appeared in Italy, India, and other countries since 2003.

TB is a major killer in the past. Unpasteurized milk was a common source of TB until widespread testing for the pathogen in dairy cattle. Today, TB is more commonly spread through aerosols when an infected individual sneezes and coughs. TB can cause permanent lung damage if left untreated. 90% of people with TB are asymptomatic.

This is unacceptable. Immigration should be controlled, but it isn’t at the moment, especially along our southern border. Frustrated by Washington’s lack of action, border-state governors are now taking matters into their own hands. Biden’s administration is increasingly being criticized by the mayors of border state towns. The Biden administration seems to be in denial about the whole calamity.

Not just tuberculosis. In New York, illegal immigrants have been diagnosed with a number of diseases.

Migrants may bring infectious diseases to our southern border. These diseases are carried by migrants when they travel to New York or elsewhere. Recent research showed that over 4% of migrants from Central America and South America who came to Europe had Chagas’s disease. It is contagious even without an animal or blood-sucking bug.

In this country, syphilis, tuberculosis, and other sexually transmitted infections are on the rise.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, immigration applicants who have communicable diseases are not admissible into the United States. However, they cannot be stopped from entering if they’re not routinely screened prior to entry, as it is with undocumented immigrants.

Even if we ignore the politically correct term (undocumented migrants), it is clear that there are communicable diseases that could be crossing our southern border. It’s not just tuberculosis but also syphilis and other STDs. Given the sexual abuse that women and children are subjected to at the southern border, it is hard to believe STDs haven’t increased.

It’s not practical to screen all of these people. It shouldn’t even be needed. Close the border. The country does not need a large number of unskilled workers. It’s long past time that the United States was a bit more careful about who they let in. What about screening for diseases? It seems obvious that all immigrants should be required to go through this process.

On our southern border as well, just like during the COVID scares, the federal health department is failing to implement one of the most basic principles in public health: prevention of transmissible diseases. Today, it’s tuberculosis. What will be the topic tomorrow?

John Henry Holliday was not available to comment.