Thread: Bird flu joins list of border worries

phoenix.bizjournals.com

Bird flu joins list of border worries
Mike Sunnucks
The Business Journal
With mounting worries about a bird flu pandemic hitting the U.S., there are fears that the deadly virus could make a southwestern entry into the country via the porous Arizona-Mexico border or Southern California ports with heavy traffic from Asia.

The federal and state governments, as well as hospitals, are formulating plans to deal with a possible avian flu outbreak. Hazardous strains of the bird flu are hitting Asia; have appeared in Eastern Europe and could potentially result in a large number of deaths in the U.S. if the strains spread here.

Populations at risk for the bird flu include the very young and very old, immune deficient and even a number of first responders and medical professionals, according to more dire predictions.

President Bush and state governors (including Arizona's Janet Napolitano) are looking at high death tolls and even the use of military forces and quarantines should an outbreak hit the U.S. and rise to crisis proportions.

One worrisome scenario is persons or poultry infected with severe strains of avian flu will enter the U.S. via the Mexican border with Arizona.

The state is the top crossing point in the U.S. for illegal immigrants entering from Mexico. Arizona is also busy entry point for those smuggling contraband and illegal drugs and black market goods into the country.

Illegal immigrants enter the U.S. without medical examinations and black market poultry and roosters are transported from Mexico to the U.S. without inspection. Some Mexican roosters are used in cockfights in Hispanic enclaves of major U.S. cities including Phoenix, Tucson and Southern California.

That worries immigration hawks, who favor tougher border controls and some public health officials worried that the bird flu could have devastating impact in the U.S.

"Those who come to America 'legally' must demonstrate that they are free of communicable diseases and drug addiction to qualify for lawful permanent residence green cards," said state Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa. "Illegal aliens simply cross our borders medically unexamined, hiding in their bodies any number of communicable diseases."

Pearce points to illegal immigrants entering the U.S. having tuberculosis, leprosy, polio and chagas disease. The former three were largely eradicated in the U.S. but have popped up in recent years in immigrant populations. Chagas is prevalent in Latin America.

"We have a national health crisis and we ignore it," said Pearce.

State Rep. Colette Rosati, R-Scottsdale, said the state and federal governments need to secure the Mexican border in order to keep illlegals, illicit drugs, contraband and disease from entering the U.S..

"It's not just people who are coming into the country illegally; it is drugs, disease, and the products of criminal activity," said Rosati.

Napolitano's office, which is drafting emergency bird flu plans and working with federal and other disease experts on the matter, referred questions on the bird flu and the border to state public health experts.

State epidemiologist David Engelthaler said currently humans get avian flues from infected poultry and birds and is not spread person to person. But Engelthaler said viruses can mutate and change and result in spread by humans.

He said the foremost worry is infected Asian birds migrating to the Western Hemisphere and that the state tests dead birds for a number of serious diseases and viruses.

Another entry point for the bird flu is via trade and immigrants from Asia, where the avian virus is spreading and already is a public health crisis. Ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach are top Asian import hubs and are five hours from Phoenix which is also a distribution hub for Southern California.

Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe said the federal government maintains trade restrictions on poultry from high-risk countries and is working with states and other countries to prevent a global bird flu epidemic.

Earlier this year, Kolbe, chairman of the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, backed a $25 million outlay for the coordination of international efforts to prevent the spread of the avian influenza.

"A worldwide influenza pandemic could seriously harm the United States and would have a devastating impact on world health," said Kolbe, a Tucson Republican. "We must do everything possible to avoid an outbreak and to protect the United States."

have one thing to say to all of Congress and the Senate and President and all elected officials. If this Bird Flu does come around. It is easy to quarantine an airplane, been there done that. With SARS but with your open border policy. We the people will hold all of you accountable. They speak of using army to quarantine City's Well Elected officials, you need to get off your tails and secure the borders now. Not after Millions of American Citizens are sick.