Some doctors think so!
You know the “mystery virus” sickening kids in at least ten states? Powerline blog (hat tip: Paul) has a provocative post here yesterday in which a doctor is quoted as saying:
This is basically the same virus commonly seen in the equatorial Americas and South America. The very odd emergence of this virus at this time – especially just prior to the new school year and now fueled by the congregation of children in schools – demands an explanation. The only plausible one is that this has been brought here from south of the – now non-existent – border.
Read it all and follow links.
Then we hear from reader Joanne who directed us to this story at the Daily Caller from last week (‘Feds Force Public Schools To Enroll Illegal Immigrant Children With No Medical Screening‘). Emphasis below is mine:
Since October 2013, 50,303 “unaccompanied children” from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have crossed America’s porous Southern border to claim green cards via the immigration courts.
[….]
According to the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, the Obama administration has not subjected a large number of these children to proper medical screening processes.
Instead, the federal government has sent the unaccompanied minors to various U.S. locations to live with relatives or, in some cases, to live as foster wards. The children then enroll in local, taxpayer-funded public schools with no questions asked — by law.
Dr. Elaina George, a member of the national advisory council of the Project 21 black leadership network and a board-certified otolaryngologist, warned that this policy adds up to the possibility of a very serious disease outbreak.
There’s no mechanism in place to ensure children are checked medically,” George told The Daily Caller. “It’s put everybody at risk. Anybody who comes into contact with a disease — tuberculosis, for example — is at risk.”
Read it all. Virginia readers need to especially take note of what your state has done (other states too most likely!).
All of our coverage of ‘unaccompanied minors’ going back several years is here. With over 200 posts, our ‘health issues’ category is here.