The recent arrival of illegal immigrants into the United States has health officials concerned about the increase in communicable diseases. Illegal immigrants are not screened for infectious diseases, with the result being an increase in diseases not seen in the U.S. for decades. New York City's health commissioner, Ashwin Vasan, announced last week that the influx of migrants from the southern border is bringing in contagious diseases. Vasan warns that only 50% of the illegal immigrants showing up in New York City are vaccinated. Diseases brought in by illegal aliens usually depend on their country of origin.

Lawful immigration requires the individual to undergo an examination to determine if the applicant is disease-free and vaccinated against certain diseases. Not so for those jumping the fence or wading across the Rio Grande.  Diseases such as measles, chicken pox, HIV, scabies, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, tuberculosis, polio, and other viruses are showing up in increasing instances around the country. There is discussion among health officials that the migrant camps and detention centers housing illegal aliens contribute to the increased rate of communicable diseases.  

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs but can also attack other body parts such as the kidney, spine, and brain. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 6,009 of 8,300 people diagnosed with TB in the US in 2022 were foreign-born. Florida has had a 21% increase in TB since 2020. Counties on the border in Texas have a TB rate three times the national average. TB is treatable in most instances. 

Polio is a more severe illness with the chance of lifelong paralysis as a consequence.  In the 1940s and early 1950s, Americans in the thousands were permanently paralyzed by polio. The development of the Sauk and other polio vaccines essentially ended the polio scourge in the United States. New York's last confirmed polio case was 34 years ago in 1990 until last summer when an unvaccinated man, who had not traveled outside the country, became paralyzed by polio, suggesting that he had been infected with the virus in the United States. The type of vaccine used in other countries may contribute to polio's spread. The United States uses a dead virus vaccine to generate immunity. Other countries use a live virus, which is often shed in the feces of humans and survives for a period of time. According to the Mayo Clinic, the polio virus found in the New York sewage system matched both the strain of polio from live oral vaccines and the strain that paralyzed the man from New York. What about the sidewalk sewage system used by some of our major cities?  The Mayo Clinic suggested that the paralyzed man was infected by either shaking hands or contacting contaminated liquids or surfaces. Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, Rockland County (N.Y. State) health commissioner, cautions: "When we see one case of paralytic polio, that means there are probably hundreds of cases that are out there in the community but not diagnosed because 75% of the cases are asymptomatic." There is discussion amongst health professionals that illegal aliens are contributing to the resurgence of polio in the United States. 

What is surprising is how little information has been published by print, radio, or social media on the resurgence of infectious diseases carried by illegal aliens. Some say politics may be involved since disease spread attributed to illegals gives more justification for closing the border. It is disappointing that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Surgeon General appear silent on these matters. The Surgeon General released a recent advisory illuminating the dangers of loneliness. "It is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke, depression, anxiety, and premature death." It does not take a medical degree to conclude that eradicating infectious diseases should, at the very least, be equally prioritized with loneliness.  

Whatever the case, what do you do about it? For polio and other diseases, the Mayo Clinic recommends vaccination and a booster for those who were vaccinated some time ago. Personal hygiene is of the utmost importance, like thoroughly washing hands after using a bathroom and especially after using a portable toilet. Use a fist bump rather than shaking hands. Avoid crowds. If you accidentally drop your iPhone in a portable toilet, think twice about retrieving it.