DHS IG Confirms Infectious Diseases Among ‘Many�

DHS IG Confirms Infectious Diseases Among ‘Many’ Illegal Children Entering US     

By: Anthony Kimery, Editor-in-Chief

08/01/2014 ( 9:30am

“Many Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) and family units” overwhelming US Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of Texas “require treatment for communicable diseases, including respiratory illnesses, tuberculosis, chicken pox and scabies,” stated a Thursday memorandum from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General (IG) John Roth to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson confirming rumors and allegations of transmissible diseases from the flood of illegal aliens who been entering the United States through the RGV border with Mexico.

The report was released as a new facility to house illegal immigrant families at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico has been quarantined because of an outbreak of chicken pox in roughly 300 individuals. Another roughly 80 individuals also reportedly tested positive for tuberculosis.

The IG’s July 31 report is based on 87 unannounced site visits conducted by Office of Inspector General (OIG agents from July 1-16 at 63 detention centers in Texas, Arizona and California, largely operated by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The OIG’s oversight of the detention centers is ongoing and reports will be issued monthly.

The IG found that “UAC and family unit illnesses and unfamiliarity with bathroom facilities resulted in unsanitary conditions and exposure to human waste in some holding facilities,” and that, “DHS employees reported exposure to communicable diseases and becoming sick on duty.”

“For example,” the IG’s memorandum stated, “during a recent site visit to the Del Rio US Border Patrol Station and Del Rio Port of Entry, CBP personnel reported contracting scabies, lice and chicken pox. Two CBP Officers reported that their children were diagnosed with chicken pox within days of the CBP Officers' contact with a UAC who had chicken pox. In addition, Border Patrol personnel at the Clint Station and Santa Teresa Station reported that they were potentially exposed to tuberculosis.”

OIG agents reported “Some problems were identified, including children requiring treatment for communicable diseases and DHS employees who have become ill from contact with their charges.”

The IG’s report would seem to make it clear that many UACs have not been properly vaccinated and are carrying a potentially wide variety of infectious diseases, putting CBP officers, Border Patrol agents and communities at risk. Furthermore, as CBP, Border Patrol and public health officials have pointed out, serious infectious diseases may not have manifested yet.

According to the border region health care officials, hospitals have diagnosed persons with infectious diarrhea, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, scabies, chickenpox and sexually transmitted diseases. There also have been reports from Border Patrol of MRSA staph infections.

“I’ve talked to border patrol down in McAllen [Texas]. They’ve seen TB; they’ve seen chicken pox; they’ve seen scabies. And according to Border Patrol, 4 or 5 of their agents have tested positive for those diseases,” Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo, was quoted saying.

Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Kenneth Wolfe also confirmed that an unaccompanied child was hospitalized after being diagnosed with the H1N1 influenza virus, more commonly known as swine flu.

Only a few weeks ago, however, a news report stated the GOP was “making alarmist claims against migrant children, saying “GOP Rep. Phil Gingrey, a retired Georgia physician, is stoking fears that the flood of migrant children is bringing loads of diseases into US, even cases of the severe and oftentimes fatal Ebola virus.”

The report stated “Gingrey’s claims join a chorus of alarms from the right conjuring a major public health crisis at the border with alleged outbreaks of scabies, lice and chicken pox in the facilities holding the migrant kids.”

The DHS IG’s report released Thursday makes clear that these “outbreaks” are no longer “alleged.”

“The border patrol gave us a list of the diseases that they’re concerned about, and Ebola was one of those,” Gingrey told NBC News.

MSNBC reported “Medical experts swiftly panned Gingrey’s claims for raising hysteria, noting that Ebola is not only difficult to transmit, but also does not exist in Central America. According to the World Health Organization, Ebola has only been found in humans living in sub-Saharan Africa.”

According to CBP data, citizens of West African nations in the Ebola hot zones have been caught trying to enter the US through the Rio Grande Valley.

This is a potentially serious concern, officials expressed to Homeland Security Today, saying illegal aliens from African nations caught trying to enter the United States could be carrying the highly lethal and infectious Ebola virus given the virus’s widespread outbreak across West Africa.

This week, Doctors Without Borders said the Ebola epidemic across West Africa is “out of control.”

“This is the biggest and most complex Ebola outbreak in history. Far too many lives have been lost already,” CDC Director Tom Frieden said Thursday at a press briefing.

Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to ebola virus though 8-10 days is most common.

CDC said the risk of exposure has been confirmed in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Gabon, South Sudan, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Republic of the Congo (ROC) and South Africa (imported).

http://www.hstoday.us/briefings/daily-news-analysis/single-article/dhs-ig-confirms-infectious-diseases-among-many-illegal-children-entering-us/cf3