NYU Doctor: Leprosy Could Hit L.A.'s Homeless Population, 'Only a Matter of Time'

CNS News Blog ^ | 09/20/2019 | By Michael W. Chapman

[SeekAndFind]

Given that a large number of the leprosy cases in the United States involve Latinos coming up from Mexico, Dr. Marc Siegel, an internal medicine specialist with NYU Langone Health, said "it seems only a matter of time before leprosy could take hold among the homeless population" in Los Angeles County.

There are close to 600,000 homeless people in L.A. County and 75% of those people lack "even temporary shelter or adequate hygiene and medical equipment," Dr. Siegel wrote in The Hill. "All of those factors make a perfect cauldron for a contagious disease that is transmitted by nasal droplets and respiratory secretions with close repeated contact."

"Diseases are reemerging in some parts of America, including Los Angeles County, that we haven’t commonly seen since the Middle Ages," said Dr. Siegel. "One of those is typhus, a disease carried by fleas that feed on rats.... I also believe that homeless areas are at risk for the reemergence of another deadly ancient disease — leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease."

A recent study from the Keck Medical Center at the University of Southern California--Los Angeles studied 187 patients in the United States with leprosy spanning 1973 to 2018. "Most patients were Latino, originating from Mexico, and they experienced a median delay in diagnosis of more than three years," the study found, as reported by Reuters.

They also reported that leprosy cases "continue to emerge in Los Angeles County."

"Leprosy is still more prevalent in Central America and South America, with more than 20,000 new cases per year," wrote Dr. Siegel. "Given that, there is certainly the possibility of sporadic cases of leprosy continuing to be brought across our southern border undetected."

[eyeamok]

I think in order to make sure, EVERY Public Official, elected or appointed, should Personally Walk the Entire Obama Row once a week to check.