…..and you, the US taxpayer, will be paying for it! (or else!) An estimated 1000-2000 of the coming 10,000 Syrians could need (costly!) mental health treatment!
Here is the AP story at ABC News(emphasis is mine):
For the thousands of Syrian refugees expected to arrive in the U.S. in coming months, the first order of business will be securing the basics — health care, jobs, education and a safe home.
But what organizations helping resettle them might not be prepared for, and what refugees themselves might be in denial about, is the need to treat the mental scars of war, experts said.
[….]
Organizations that work with refugees said it’s too early to assess the full scope of arrivals’ mental health needs. But experts say it’s important to keep tabs on the emotional state of new arrivals, since symptoms may not appear until months or years later — well after most resettlement support services have ended. [It is all on the community then which must come up with the $$$ for all of this care!—ed]
The U.S. has taken about 2,500 Syrian refugees since the conflict there began in 2011, including about 100 in Massachusetts. The Obama administration expects to take in at least 10,000 in the federal fiscal year that began in October. Experts estimate 10 to 20 percent of incoming Syrians will have war-related psychological problems warranting treatment.
At about two years after arrival reality hits and mental health problems appear according to Dr. Richard Mollica at Harvard. Photo and bio: http://www.williamjames.edu/about/profiles/faculty/richard-mollica.cfm
“They’re in the honeymoon phase,” said Richard Mollica, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School who has spent decades working with torture and genocide victims. “In the first year, they’re so happy to be out of that situation. They feel something wonderful is going to happen in America.
And “wonderful” doesn’t come and that is where I believe the mental health crisis begins!
The streets are not paved with gold, they have to work (find work!) and the mythical city of El Doradois just that, a myth. Many will want to go home.
“It’s only about two years later or so when there’s a mental health crisis,” he said. “It’s at that point that reality hits and they really need a lot of mental health care.”
And get this! If you don’t take care of their mental health they could turn into Islamic terrorists!
Failure to address them could lead some refugees to withdraw from society, increasing the chances they’ll be drawn to extremist groups, Arnetz [Michigan professor] warned.
Some good news! Syrians are only trickling into the US and at the present rate, Obama won’t get to that magic 10,000 by September 30th (the end of the 2016 fiscal year). See numbers (so far) here. I’m guessing the securityscreening is going very slowly.
For ambitious readers we have 289 previous posts in our ‘health issues’ category (refugees have a lot of health issues!).
For all of you in the medical field and who are also concerned about refugees, more information is available.
This is from US News. Maybe we should be suspending the refugee program for the health risks it poses that might in the end be greater than the terrorism risks! Family waits for TB screening in hospital in Thailand. Photo: https://www.iom.int/news/iom-calls-inclusion-migrants-tb-prevention-and-treatment-strategies
Almost the last line was the shocking part. The article suggests that health screening should be done before the refugee enters the country. I thought that is what was ALREADY happening!
The news is from a new report published Nov. 12 in the American Journal of Public Health. I didn’t search for the full report, but you should. Remember we (taxpayers) are paying for their medical treatment! Emphasis below is mine.
FRIDAY, Nov. 27, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The main health problems of refugee children from Asia and Africa when they arrive in the United States are outlined in a new study.
Based on screenings of more than 8,100 young refugees between 2006 and 2012, the top health concerns were hepatitis B, tuberculosis, parasitic worms, high blood lead levels and anemia, the study found.
The refugees, all younger than 19, were from Bhutan, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Iraq and Somalia. The screenings were conducted shortly after they arrived in Colorado, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Washington state.
In general, these conditions were more common among children from the [African countries—ed] Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia, and lower among those from Iraq, researchers said. [Although we haven’t talked about it because Middle Eastern refugees are making the news, Obama’s 2016 plan calls for our African numbers to increase by 7,000 this year.—ed]
Among refugees from Myanmar [aka Burma—ed], those who came to the United States from Thailand had more diseases than those who came by way of Malaysia, the researchers found.
“Understanding the health profiles of children from different countries allows us to provide better counseling for parents, prioritize specific tests and ensure that we give children a healthy start here in the U.S.,” study lead author Dr. Katherine Yun, a pediatrician in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s PolicyLab and Refugee Health Program, said in a hospital news release.
The findings may have a number of implications.
It’s a good thing we have Obamacare to take care of all of these “New Americans!”
“Our data suggest that the existing [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] medical screening guidelines remain relevant and hold great value,” Yun said.
“We also recommend that multistate public health collaborations monitor the health of newly arrived refugee children, along with resources available to them,” she added. [Refugees move, sometimes shortly after arrival and this would imply those diagnosed, with say TB etc., may not be tracked.—ed]
Health officials should analyze these data in a timely manner, because refugee populations change significantly over time, she said.
Also, it may be more cost-effective to conduct health screenings of refugees before they leave their countries, Yun said.
Asylum seekers NOT screened upon arrival!
I did spend a few minutes visiting the CDC website and came across this (below). Remember I told youhere the other daythat we now have tens of thousands of asylum seekers coming across our borders illegally or overstaying a visa and we grant asylum to about 25,000 a year (they are given all the rights of refugees we fly in once granted asylum). The legal process can take a year or more, so asylum seekers are in your communities and unscreened for serious medical issues for months and possibly years.
From the Centers for Disease Controlon Asylees:
Asylees are persons who meet the definition of a refugee but are already in the United States or are seeking admission at a US port of entry. From 2000 to 2010, the top ten countries of origin for people granted asylum in the United States were China, Colombia, Haiti, India, Ethiopia, Iraq, Armenia, Albania, Iran, and Somalia. Those who are living in the United States or are seeking admission at a US port of entry when they apply for asylum are recommended to have a domestic medical exam once they have been granted asylum status. When an asylee applies for adjustment of status, an I-693 medical examination (including vaccinations) by a civil surgeon is required. Once an asylee has been granted asylum status, their family members may follow to join them in the US, and therefore these family members would undergo the required medical examination overseas, prior to immigration.
Currently, there are very little data available about the health problems of asylees after they migrate to the United States. Many asylum seekers originate in, or transfer through, countries with public health issues similar to those facing refugees arriving through the US Refugee Admissions Program. Therefore we recommend that medical providers screening asylees apply the same screening and treatment recommendations in the CDC Refugee Domestic Guidelines when performing a medical evaluation of an asylee. For individuals who have been in the United States for more than one year, special attention should be paid to diseases with long latency and associated severe morbidity such as tuberculosis, hepatitis B, and Strongyloides infection.
See also our previous 288 posts in our ‘health issues’ category. A lot of information is archived there on the mental and physical health problems refugees bring to America. Gee, isn’t it grand that we have Obamacare!
The new hard Left Canadian government is hell-bent on bringing in 25,000 Syrians in a little over a month. Apparently unable to find housing for them, they will be housed in military barracks across Canada.
From CTV News: Canadian military moving out of barracks so Syrians can move in!
Soldiers and military personnel at a Kingston, Ont. base are being asked to clear their barracks to make room for an early wave of Syrian refugees arriving in just over a week, CTV News has learned.
Multiple residences at CFB Kingston are being cleared for Nov. 30 to house the refugees, according to an internal memo obtained by CTV News.
The orders will also affect some officer cadets attending the Royal Military College, many of whom are nearing exams.
Where will the military be resettled? CTV News continues….
When boys run countries….
And while the memo warns of the fast-approaching deadline, it does not indicate where military personnel will be resettled.
However, it does say a place will be found for the personnel.
The notice comes just two days after Minister of Immigration and Refugees John McCallum reaffirmed the government’s plan to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2015.
There is more, read it all! The story mentions “health” concerns, so it appears they are a little worried about containing some potentially contagious diseases. Lucky Canadian citizens!
Note in the story that the UN is picking their refugees, so the vast majority will be Sunni Muslims.
We have an entire category here at RRWon refugee and immigrant health (286 previous posts!) and I’ve maintained for years that health problems coming into the US with refugees and the cost of treating the myriad diseases and chronic conditions could ultimately be more significant to your community than a terrorist attack might be. Those refugees with latent TB are admitted to the US and some who are being treated for active TB may also gain entry. Photo: http://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/guidelines/refugee-guidelines.html
That said, here is an informative article (hat tip: Joanne) from The Journal of Family Practice a few years ago which goes over the issues facing the medical community as we ‘welcome’ over 100,000 refugees and asylum seekers to America each year.
Pay special attention to the sections on Tuberculosis and HIV (there is no longer a bar to admission for HIV/AIDS and refugees are no longer even tested for it in advance of admission). Other big medical issues include intestinal parasites and hepatitis. And, of course mental health.
In 2012 we posted a film describing how refugees with active TB were being prepared for entry into the US, here.
Here is how the Journal of Family Practice article opens:
Refugees arrive in the United States with complex medical issues, including illnesses rarely seen here, mental health concerns, and chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.
I encourage all of you working in ‘pockets of resistance’ to be sure to do your homework on health issues, including mental health issues. According to Anastasia Brown of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, 75% of Iraqis entering the US have mental illness. See Journal of Migration and Human Security report, here. The Centers for Disease Control also has important information on its website, here.
And, in the past we have noted that both Texas and Minnesota health departments have lots of good information about refugee health on their websites, and I expect some other states do as well. If your state health department does not report on refugee medical problems that is something you should be advocating for where you live.
Again, see our ‘Health issues’ category by clicking here.
That is the title of an article at the Centers for Disease Control which reminds us that it isn’t just the Islamic terrorists that Europe has to worry about, but diseases that had long been eradicated in advanced western countries. Lucky taxpayers too! For more than you ever wanted to know: http://www.open.edu/openlearnworks/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=122&printable=1 More ‘Invasion of Europe’ news……
From the CDC:
During June 9–September 30, 2015, five cases of louseborne relapsing fever were identified in Turin, Italy. All 5 cases were in young refugees from Somalia, 2 of whom had lived in Italy since 2011. Our report seems to confirm the possibility of local transmission of louse-borne relapsing fever.
Louseborne relapsing fever (LRF) was once widely distributed in all geographic areas, including Europe and North America, occurring in association with poverty and overcrowding. In Europe, it virtually disappeared after World War I in parallel with improved living conditions that led to substantially decreased body lice infestations in humans (1). Currently, LRF is reported mostly from Ethiopia and surrounding countries, where it is endemic (2): in this region, it is an extremely common infection with substantial mortality. The causative agent is the spirochete bacterium Borrelia recurrentis. In nature, the only relevant vector is the body louse, which feeds only on humans; no other reservoir for this infection is known (1,3). The incubation period is 3–12 days. We report 5 cases of LRF in refugees to Italy from East Africa that occurred during 2015.
[….]
Italy has recently received large numbers of refugees from East Africa, particularly from Somalia. These refugees come from and travel through countries where B. recurrentis is endemic; along the way, they are often sheltered in crowded conditions with very poor hygienic facilities. Two of the patients reported here indicated that, while staying in Libya, they were held with many other persons in a close environment, and all refugees housed together reported severe itching.
Many of these refugees enter Italy through Sicily, from where they are sent to reception centers throughout the country. Some of these reception centers have grown to substantial size and now house a more stable population, with continuous input of new arrivals. In these conditions, local transmission can occur with a possible risk for epidemics: 2 of the 5 patients reported here were long-term residents in Italy, and they denied recent travel to Africa, so they probably acquired the infection while being housed in the same facilities as the newly arrived refugees. Although it is possible that they denied recent travel for fear of legal consequences, they are unlikely to have had the opportunity to travel out of Europe for economic reasons.
More here.
For future reference this post is filed in our ‘Health issues’ category, here (285 previous posts), as well as in our ‘Invasion of Europe’ archives,here.
