That is what we would like to know! Michael Patrick Leahy of Breitbart is on the case. I know most of you are reading Breitbart (right!), but I wanted to be sure we get this latest Tuberculosis news posted to keep our ‘Health Issues’ category up to date.
Also, before you read what Leahy says about this Nebraska case, see our recent post on Nebraska here (3 days ago).
Leahy at Breitbart:
A student enrolled at Benson Magnet High School, one of seven high schools in the Omaha, Nebraska Public Schools system, was diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB) in November.
Two hundred thirty seven of Benson Magnet High School’s 1,273 students, or 18.6 percent, are refugees, according to Omaha Public School’s District English Language Learner/Refugee Report, 2015-16.
Officials with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Douglas County Public Health Department are withholding whether the student was foreign-born or American-born.
A number of Omaha’s refugee students were born in countries burdened by TB; Myanmar/Burma (617), Nepal (186), Somalia (140), and Bhutan (84).
As Breitbart News reported previously, foreign-born residents of Nebraska accounted for 82 percent of all cases of TB diagnosed in the state in 2014, much higher than the national average of 66 percent….
Continue reading here. The article is full of links to important related news.
I’m wondering if the problems with the US Refugee Admissions Program will hit home once families in resettlement towns and cities find that their kids have to be tested for TB!
And, I’ve wondered for a long time if volunteers who work with refugees are given instructions on how to stay safe and keep their families safe when interfacing with newly arrived refugees. Does anyone know? (For new readers: Yes we admit refugees with TB.)
Our ‘Health Issues’ category (320 previous posts!) is here.