Health Officials Link Gwinnett TB Rise to Immigration (health care, immigrants, children)

[JDubsMom]

Health Officials Link Gwinnett TB Rise to Immigration Odette Yousef ATLANTA, GA (2008-09-18)

As reported cases of tuberculosis decrease in most of the state, Gwinnett County has shown a persistent increase. The county appears on track to have the second-greatest number of cases in the state this year, and health officials point to its rapidly-growing immigrant population.

Fulton County has the most TB cases in Georgia, but like the most of rest of the state, the number is declining. Gwinnett is moving in the opposite direction.

Dr. Michael Leonard is with Georgia's Department of Community Health:

LEONARD: When we look at a pool of people as to who's infected with TB, certainly people who are from areas where TB is highly endemic, people that have emigrated from those areas are at higher risk for being infected with TB, and for later developing TB

Leonard says Gwinnett's immigrant communities may not have access to health care. But those who do health outreach for immigrants say it's about fear. When a Gwinnett County youth was identified as TB positive last summer, his family's illegal status was exposed.

Last year there were 473 reported cases in Georgia.

WABE: Health Officials Link Gwinnett TB Rise to Immigration (2008-09-18)

[GuyPinestra]

I wonder what Cynthia ( I love my undocumenteds ) Tucker has to say about that?!?!?

[JDubsMom]

Originally Posted by GuyPinestra

I wonder what Cynthia ( I love my undocumenteds ) Tucker has to say about that?!?!?

Hmm .. . there's a long list of them who somehow think that legalizing these losers is the answer. I'm willing to bet that if one of their children contracts this formerly US ERADICATED disease they'd change their sympathetic droning.

Last year a "foreign student" at my son's university tested positive for TB and they all had to be retested and reimmunized.