Thread: 89 undocumented immigrants test positive for tuberculosis skin test

89 undocumented immigrants test positive for tuberculosis skin test

By Zack Ponce / Alamogordo Daily News
POSTED: 07/23/2014 09:18:19 AM MDT

ARTESIA >> A total of 89 undocumented immigrants detained at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center have tested positive on the tuberculosis, or TB, skin test, but no individual has actually contracted the disease according to J.R. Doporto, a Carlsbad city councilor.

A positive TB skin or blood test only signifies that the person has been infected with the bacteria that causes tuberculosis, according to a fact sheet published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The test does not show whether the person has actually contracted the disease.

If a person tests positive on the TB skin test, he or she is then given a chest X-ray, which proves whether the subject has contracted the disease.

Doporto, Artesia Mayor Phil Burch and other various city and county officials from Southeastern New Mexico met with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials Tuesday for an update on the status of the undocumented immigrants being detained at FLETC while they await either deportation or an asylum hearing in front of an immigration judge.

The Current-Argus spoke with an ICE spokeswoman, but the federal agency was unable to provide an official comment before press time.

Currently, 603 individuals are held at FLETC and, according to Burch, all who have tested positive in the skin test either have undergone chest X-rays with no signs of having contracted the disease, or will have the chest X-ray conducted within the next day. Some undocumented immigrants tested positive in the TB skin test Tuesday, so they might not be able to receive a chest X-ray until today, according to Burch.

"Prior to today's meeting, all people who tested positive have gone through chest X-ray testing or are scheduled to go through chest X-ray testing," Burch said. "We've had enough physicians involved and enough people who understand the process and procedure (that) at this point (ICE has) had no indications that there has been anyone that has come through the center with active tuberculosis."

All women and children are immediately tested for viruses and diseases upon arrival at FLETC. If an undocumented immigrant has any contagious diseases, the detainee is immediately quarantined on the premises.

Doporto said he was at first hesitant to share the health tests with the news media because of the potential for widespread fear, but after consideration, he felt the community required the information.

"We just need to be aware that this is going on," he said. "The concern is definitely there, especially with so many positive tests. Skin tests (only) show us that (TB) is present in their country, but with that being said, eventually if they're exposed on their skin, we will run into one (undocumented immigrant) that has been exposed."

No detainee to date has been found to have any contagious disease or virus since Central Americans who were caught illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border were first brought to Artesia on June 27.

Reporter Zack Ponce can be reached at 575-689-7402.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_2...d-tuberculosis

This is inadequate info. A total of how many tested? If 603 is the number tested, that is approx. only 1% of the total influx, but approx. 15% of the 603 tested positive. so, assume 57,000 to be accurate, assume 15% would test positive if tested, that is 8,550. America's schools have a right to know where they are!

Is this another snow job? We have NO WAY of knowing, when you lie and get caught, I have to assume that I'm dealing with a liar! I HAVE TO ASSUME THAT, it is called self-protection. As with most administrations since Nixon, government in America is/has been made up of a majority of liars!

A total of 89 undocumented immigrants detained at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center have tested positive on the tuberculosis, or TB, skin test . . .

(ARTESIA, N.M.) Only aliens held at this center.

School will be starting soon and parents should be informed their children could be exposed to tuberculosis.

Welcome jojo2014.

Carried by this tsunami of illegals are the invisible “travelers” our politicians don’t like to mention: diseases the U.S. had controlled or virtually eradicated: tuberculosis (TB), Chagas disease, dengue fever, hepatitis, malaria, measles, plus more. I have been working on medical projects in Central and South America since 2009, so I am aware of problems these countries face from such diseases.

A public health crisis, the likes of which I have not seen in my lifetime, is looming. Hardest hit by exposures to these difficult-to-treat diseases will be elderly, children, immunosuppressed cancer-patients, patients with chronic lung disease or congestive heart failure. Drug-resistant tuberculosis is the most serious risk, but even diseases like measles can cause severe complications and death in older or immunocompromised patients.

http://www.alipac.us/look-out-americ...l-aliens-3187/