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"Immigration and Disease: It's Enough to Make You Sick
cronwatch ^ | Friday, November 21, 2003 | Robert Klein Engler

Posted on 11/21/2003 6:16:46 PM PST by freetradenotfree

"Immigration and Disease: It's Enough to Make You Sick"

Uncontrolled and illegal immigration to the United States causes many problems for the nation. Just the tax revenues spent on welfare programs, education, health care, and housing for illegal immigrants is enough to make one question our immigration policies. Now, we can add another problem and cost associated with illegal immigration: illegal immigrants can make you sick.

According to an article at newsobserver.com and other news sources, a deadly Pennsylvania hepatitis outbreak has spread panic among many residents of the area. ''More than 500 people got sick and three have died from this hepatitis outbreak.'' Charles Sheehan, writing for the Associated Press, claims that ''The nation's biggest known outbreak of hepatitis A is causing such a panic that people are lining up by the thousands for antibody shots and no longer eating out.''

Health investigators are looking into whether contaminated produce--perhaps scallions from Mexico--may have caused the outbreak at the Chi Chi's restaurant in the Beaver Valley Mall, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. ''We're very concerned. It's very serious and we've sent a team of people out there to assist,'' said CDC spokesman David Daigle.

According to yet another article on station WPIX Pittsburgh's web site, ''In light of the hepatitis A outbreak from a Center Township restaurant, Chi-Chi's has pulled green onions from its menu nationwide as a precaution. As far as the investigation into the Chi-Chi's outbreak, the virus has been identified as the 'Mexican Strain.' '' Health officials reported, ''Workers may have contaminated food by failure to follow basic hygiene in cleaning hands after using the bathroom.''

The U. S. is not alone in its fight against illegal immigration and disease. Illegal Chinese immigrants to Europe are bringing to that continent malaria. Even Thailand has problems with diseases brought in with immigrants from Burma. The biological clock is ticking and a world health crisis is looming. Because the U. S. suffers more immigration than any country in the world, our health problems are growing faster. Certainly, the potential for biological disaster has come to the notice of terrorists and Al Qaeda.

Although the out break of Hepatitis A in Pennsylvania is the largest in U. S. history, it is just the tip of the iceberg in so far as disease and immigration is concerned. Frosty Wooldridge in his many articles reports that, ''Thousands carry head lice, leprosy, tuberculosis, and hepatitis A, B, and C into the U. S. Tuberculosis, five years ago, was almost nonexistent in the USA. A school in Sebewaing, Michigan, reported 30 children and four teachers had tested positive for tuberculosis infections.''

Wooldridge goes on to add, ''In the past four years, 16,000 cases of multi drug resistant (MDR) TB, which was formerly endemic ONLY to Mexico, crossed over the borders inside the bodies of illegal aliens. These adults and their children have spread out across the country to work in fast foods and harvesting. Another outbreak occurred in Austin, Minnesota, where eight police officers tested positive for tuberculosis.'' A similar outbreak reportedly occurred in Portland, Maine where 28 tested positive for tuberculosis.

And the list gets even longer: ''Leprosy totaled 900 cases in the USA in the past 40 years. In the past three years, according to a report from the New York Times in February, 2003, leprosy has infected over 7,000 people in the United States. It was brought in by illegal immigrants from India, Brazil, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Leprosy spreads by infected illegal aliens working in fast food, dish washing and hotels."

Then there is Chagas Disease. This disease ''is brought directly from Mexico and Latin America where it has infected over 18,000,000 people. One can contract it by eating uncooked food contaminated with infected feces of the Vinchuca Bug. It crosses over the border in the bodies of an average of 2,200 illegal aliens daily.''

Disease transmission by immigration is not limited to just the states that border Mexico. As far north as Kentucky and Illinois, problems of disease and immigrants are to be found. A Kentucky state legislator blamed illegal Hispanic immigrants for spreading disease in Kentucky and draining the shelves of local food charities. Illegal immigrants whom Kentucky State Representative Fred Nesler described as ''mostly your Mexicans'' have caused problems in his Western Kentucky district. He said, ''Whenever they come into a community, those people bring quite a bit of disease with them.''

In northern Virginia, state health authorities announced that ''tuberculosis continues to rise'' and that ''immigration is fueling the spread.'' According to the Washington Post, this strain of TB is the drug resistant strain (Washington Post, March 18, 2002). The state Health Department released figures showing an increase of nearly 5 percent in TB cases in the state between 2000 and 2001, and 57 percent of the increase occurred in northern Virginia itself.

As the Washington Post explained, ''Health officials say the rise of TB ... is largely a consequence of the migration of people from parts of the world where the disease is common. It is thought that two-thirds of the cases of TB brought into the United States originated in just three countries: Mexico, the Philippines, and Vietnam.''

A study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform in the St. Louis Business Journal (August 20, 2003) reports that Missouri spends about $21.4 million a year and Illinois spends $484 million a year to educate school-aged illegal immigrants. The report goes on to state that, ''The money spent in Illinois is enough to supply healthcare to every person under the poverty line for two years or to supply financial aid to the nearly 34,000 college students denied it.''' Clearly, illegal immigration is lowering the standard of living of all American citizens.

Writing in the National Review, James R. Edwards cites the dramatic increase in diseases immigrants bring to the United States. He states, ''TB is especially prevalent in Mexicans....Mexican immigrants have an infection rate of 35.5 cases per 100,000, far above the native-born rate.'' Edwards then goes on to ask, ''Does America have the resolve to safeguard public health first, even at the risk of being politically incorrect? Do American taxpayers willingly accept the additional burden of the costs mass immigration places on the nation's healthcare system?''

The answer to Edwards' question is, ''No.'' It is obvious there is no desire or resolve to safeguard public health in either political party. Nor do the politicians want to do anything about illegal immigration, especially illegal immigration from Mexico. What is lacking here is a long term vision of what is good for the U. S. Instead, everyone is looking at short term political or economic gains.

A solution to the problems of illegal immigration probably will hurt some people in the short run. That is the pain that precedes a cure. Some families may be broken up and some decent, hardworking people sent back to a country that has no jobs for them. Nevertheless, in the long run, policies that deport illegal immigrants will benefit the U. S. These policies may even force Mexico, among other nations, to get their house in order. But because there is short term pain for a long term benefit, politicians will stay away from doing anything to solve the immigration mess and its attending public health problems. The problem of illegal immigration and disease will just grow worse. It's enough to make you sick!


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aliens; hepatitisonions; illegalimmigration; immigrantlist; immigration
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1 posted on 11/21/2003 6:16:48 PM PST by freetradenotfree
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To: freetradenotfree
Free Tade is now killing American
2 posted on 11/21/2003 6:18:25 PM PST by freetradenotfree
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To: freetradenotfree
If the U.S. doesn't (soon) close our borders to all immigration (both legal and illegal) for a period of at least 20-30 years to allow the necessary time for the 3rd worlders already here to assimilate and become Americanized, the U.S. will die a pathetic death.
3 posted on 11/21/2003 6:20:51 PM PST by Mr. Mojo
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To: freetradenotfree
Welcome to FREE TRADE

FDA bans scallions linked to hepatitis A outbreak 11/20/2003 8:28 PM By: Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Mexican scallions from companies linked to outbreaks of hepatitis A are getting held at the U.S. border.>P? The Food and Drug Administration said investigators implicated raw green onions from three firms.

It said products from those companies are being held for investigation.

The liver infections occurred in Tennessee and Georgia last September.

FDA also said it is looking into the source of the latest outbreak of hepatitis A, the largest known in U.S. history.

It left three dead and sickened more than 540 people who'd eaten at a now-closed Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurant in western Pennsylvania


4 posted on 11/21/2003 6:20:58 PM PST by freetradenotfree
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To: freetradenotfree
free trade/illegal immigration: what's the connection?
5 posted on 11/21/2003 6:23:17 PM PST by dasboot (Celebrate UNITY!)
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To: freetradenotfree
free trade/illegal immigration: what's the connection?
6 posted on 11/21/2003 6:23:17 PM PST by dasboot (Celebrate UNITY!)
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To: freetradenotfree
Don't expect the dems to do anything about this anddon't expect Bush to do anything either
7 posted on 11/21/2003 6:23:46 PM PST by uncbob
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To: Mr. Mojo
I agree
8 posted on 11/21/2003 6:26:13 PM PST by freetradenotfree
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To: dasboot
United Nations International laws and treaties!!
9 posted on 11/21/2003 6:30:13 PM PST by freetradenotfree
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To: freetradenotfree
Tainted food products are also produced domestically.
10 posted on 11/21/2003 6:30:52 PM PST by dasboot (Celebrate UNITY!)
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To: freetradenotfree
Sorry, no comprende UN treaties viv- a- vis immigration and free trade. You mean WTO?
11 posted on 11/21/2003 6:33:47 PM PST by dasboot (Celebrate UNITY!)
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To: gubamyster
ping
12 posted on 11/21/2003 6:33:55 PM PST by Libertarianize the GOP (Ideas have consequences)
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To: Mr. Mojo


I second that.
13 posted on 11/21/2003 7:01:15 PM PST by SouthernFreebird
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To: freetradenotfree
"Diversity" is worth the disease and death.
14 posted on 11/21/2003 7:01:19 PM PST by AEMILIUS PAULUS (Further, the statement assumed)
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To: freetradenotfree
I think that if the un-PC crowd are ever in control, we'll find out that this outbreak had nothing to do with green onions.
15 posted on 11/21/2003 7:39:46 PM PST by FrogMom
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To: FrogMom
Exactly! It's the illegal immigrants who are HANDLING the green onions, right after doing #2 and running past the sink....biased media will never say that though...
16 posted on 11/21/2003 8:14:55 PM PST by Frank_2001
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To: freetradenotfree
Absolutely disgusting. After reading this, I don't want to eat out for a long time. On the other hand, it's not difficult to catch TB just standing near someone infected in a store, etc. The problems caused by these illegals seem to be endless.
17 posted on 11/21/2003 8:33:10 PM PST by dougherty (USA = FLOPHOUSE TO THE WORLD)
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To: freetradenotfree
The article isn't about free trade. The article is about immigration.

One of the arguments advanced for free trade is that in the long term it will reduce immigration, since workers will no longer chase jobs across international borders.

Thus, free trade reduces the problem of diseases brought to this country my immigrants that is discussed in the article.

I believe in enforcing fair trade with our trading partners, and I believe on sensible limitations to immigration - But I fail to see the relevance of your argument here.
18 posted on 11/21/2003 8:47:07 PM PST by LouD
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To: dasboot
Average reported cases of hepatitis A per 100,000 population*, 1987-1997
<5 white 5 - <10 yellow 10 - <20 orange >20 red

From the CDC

19 posted on 11/21/2003 8:54:52 PM PST by FITZ
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To: Frank_2001
We are in times of crisis,thanks to Bill,we need to close our borders and throw out all illegal aliens in this country. All our problems would be solved except for liberals!
20 posted on 11/21/2003 9:05:35 PM PST by patriciamary
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