Germany reaping the whirlwind of infectious diseases admitted to the country along with the migrants

07/14/2017 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Gatestone has a very informative piece this morning, thanks to reader Cathy for sending it my way.

Germans greet refugees in Berlin (2014): Onlookers clapped and chanted: “Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here.” http://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/refugees-greeted-to-cheers-in-germany-as-eu-bickers-over-quotas/

As you read this story, do NOT forget that refugees entering the US are being permitted entry even if they have TB. We learned just this week that the state of Minnesota was financially strapped as its health system attempts to cope with infectious diseases in its migrant community.
So although this story involves Germany, you, Americans are not immune!
Just like in Germany the reason you don’t hear about the diseases in the refugee flow to America is because authorities are “downplaying the threat in an effort to avoid fueling anti-immigration sentiments.”
And, as I have said repeatedly if Islamic terrorism doesn’t worry you, this should…..

(Emphasis below is mine)

Germany: Infectious Diseases Spreading as Migrants Settle In

A failed asylum seeker from Yemen who was given sanctuary at a church in northern Germany to prevent him from being deported has potentially infected more than 50 German children with a highly contagious strain of tuberculosis.

The man, who was sheltered at a church in Bünsdorf between January and May 2017, was in frequent contact with the children, some as young as three, who were attending a day care center at the facility. He was admitted to a hospital in Rendsburg in June and subsequently diagnosed with tuberculosis — a disease which only recently has reentered the German consciousness.

Local health authorities say that in addition to the children, parents and teachers as well as parishioners are also being tested for the disease, which can develop months or even years after exposure. It remains unclear if the man received the required medical exams when he first arrived in Germany, or if he is one of the hundreds of thousands of migrants who have slipped through the cracks.

The tuberculosis scare has cast a renewed spotlight on the increased risk of infectious diseases in Germany since Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed in around two million migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

[….]

The incidence of Hepatitis B, for example, has increased by 300% during the last three years, according to the RKI. The number of reported cases in Germany was 3,006 in 2016, up from 755 cases in 2014. Most of the cases are said to involve unvaccinated migrants from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The incidence of measles in Germany jumped by more than 450% between 2014 and 2015, while the number of cases of chicken pox, meningitis, mumps, rubella and whooping cough were also up. Migrants also accounted for at least 40% of the new cases of HIV/AIDS identified in Germany since 2015, according to a separate RKI report.

The RKI statistics may be just the tip of the iceberg. The number of reported cases of tuberculosis, for example, was 5,915 in 2016, up from 4,488 cases in 2014, an increase of more than 30% during that period. Some doctors, however, believe that the actual number of cases of tuberculosis is far higher and have accused the RKI of downplaying the threat in an effort to avoid fueling anti-immigration sentiments.

Read it all here.
See my ‘Invasion of Europe’ archive here.
And, don’t miss RRW’s ‘health issues’ category. 333 previous posts here.
I ask repeatedly, but never get an answer: Do volunteers who work with refugees in the US get any sort of training about how to spot infectious diseases in those they are helping and how to protect their own families at home?

If Islamic terrorists don't scare you, Tuberculosis should!

09/14/2016 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Michael Patrick Leahy writing at Breitbart reported yesterday on yet another case of active Tuberculosis in the refugee flow to America. I will wager that the vast majority of Americans have no idea that refugees are walking around sometimes for weeks and months with TB (even active TB) interacting with you in schools, stores, and in the workplace.

tb-symptoms — Are you around refugees/immigrants who cough a lot? Know the warning signs.

Here is the latest from Michigan, yesterday, at Breitbart (hat tip: Drudge):

An Iraqi refugee who arrived in Oakland County, Michigan in June 2015 was diagnosed with active tuberculosis (TB) in March of this year, a spokesperson for the Oakland County Health and Human Services Department (OCHD) tells Breitbart News.

[….]

News that at least one recently resettled refugee has been diagnosed with active TB in Michigan brings the number of states that have confirmed recently resettled refugees have been diagnosed with active TB to twelve. The other eleven states (with the number of refugees diagnosed with active TB shown in parentheses) include Wisconsin (27), Nebraska (21), Louisiana (21), Vermont (17), Colorado (16), Florida (11), Ohio (11 in one county), Idaho (7), Kentucky (9 in one county), North Dakota (4 in one county), and Indiana (4).

Continue reading here.
This is one more important reason why the House and Senate Judiciary Committees should be holding hearings right now!
In addition to following the law which requires Congressional hearings before the new fiscal year begins, hearings would begin to lay the ground work for extensive reform of the Refugee Admissions Program in a new administration.
See Leahy’s story this morning on Obama’s proposal for FY 2017—110,000 refugees for your towns next year!—in which I am quoted.
I’ve asked this before but will keep asking it, are volunteers who sign up to help refugees settle-in instructed in how to protect themselves from communicable diseases?
Refugees have a lot of health problems, see our health issues category with 316 previous posts by clicking here.

New study: Refugee children arrive with many health issues, diseases

11/28/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

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.

Obama-Obamacare-Meme-11 — 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 you here the other day that 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 Control on 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!

Lucky Europe! Louseborne Relapsing Fever among East African Refugees, Italy, 2015

11/11/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

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!

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.

Netherlands: Asylum seekers to be tested for skin disease MRSA as cases are diagnosed in three provinces

10/28/2015 ~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Invasion of Europe news…..
Tuberculosis and AIDs are expected in the ‘refugee’ flow into Europe, but now the deadly skin disease MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is showing up and we learn from the Dutch health service that any asylum seeker needing a hospital visit will be quarantined and tested.
MRSA perhaps more scary than ISIS….
From NL Times:

netherlands-provinces-capitals-map — MRSA has been diagnosed in ‘refugees’ in northern provinces of Groningen and Drenthe, and in Weert which is in the southern Limburg province.

The National Institute for Public Health and Environment, the RIVM, has decided to quarantine every asylum seeker visiting a hospital and screen them for MRSA. This decision was made after the dreaded hospital bacteria was found in a few refugees in asylum centers in Weert and the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen.

This measure is to prevent a major outbreak of MRSA in refugee centers. “All hospitals have now been informed of the increased risk”, Jaap van Dissel, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Control at the RIVM, said to newspaper AD.

A total of 95 refugees were examined who came in contact with a MRSA patient in Weert. Fifteen percent of them were infected with the bacteria. In the northern provinces it was 10 percent. Under normal circumstances, about 1 percent of the Dutch population carry this bacteria.

MRSA can be very dangerous to people with a weak resistance, such as refugees who traveled for weeks under horrible circumstances. The bacteria is also resistant to most antibiotics, which is why hospitals work very hard to prevent an outbreak.

“Healthy people do not have to be afraid”, Van Dissel said to the newspaper. “If doctors and other care providers in asylum centers stick to the hygiene measures, the chance of it spreading is very small.”

New readers might be interested to know that we have an entire category entitled ‘health issues’ where we have 283 previous posts about refugee and immigrant health archived.
I know there is nothing funny about it, but how often do we hear the Left squawking about how the first Europeans to arrive in the new world brought deadly diseases with them, will we hear one squawk from the “welcoming” Dutch as the invaders from the Middle East and Africa bring diseases to the Netherlands?
All of our ‘Invasion of Europe’ news is here.