Illegal Immigrants Import Disease

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8 ways illegal immigrants are making you sick
By Dr. William Campbell Douglass
02/14/2008
I'll be the first one to step up and get a tear in my eye about huddled masses yearning to breathe free and live "the American Dream" in this "Land of Opportunity." But the cold fact is that today, too many people go around the system and sneak into America from countries with markedly lower and even non-existent health standards. But these people are bringing more than just cheap labor with them… In some of these countries - Mexico included - diseases that you only read about in Victorian novels (cholera, TB, typhoid, and even plague) are daily occurrences. It's no coincidence that all of these diseases are now on the rise right here in the U.S.

That's right: Diseases we did away with long ago are "mysteriously" beginning to reemerge. These are the same diseases that terrorized Americans for hundreds of years. Maybe it's been too long for everyone to remember what it was like when people lived in constant fear of diseases like these. Surely if they remembered, alarm bells would be sounding loud and clear-and people wouldn't worry so much about the need for cheap labor, and the fear of being perceived as racist. What a load of bull.

You can call me a racist all you want, but if turning a blind eye to (or heaven forbid, welcoming with open arms) these illegals means opening up my children's children to these awful diseases, you can forget it. I won't stand for what these moochers are doing to our land, our schoolrooms or our hospitals-and neither should you.

And keep in mind that coming into our country LEGALLY means you've been screened for these diseases. It's those that ignore the system and make their own rules that are putting us at risk.

Allow me to put some names to these faces of disease. I just hope that you never have to meet them.

1. Tuberculosis
As illegal immigration continues to run amok thanks to business and the government turning a blind eye, tuberculosis is making a comeback in the States. Reports say that over three-quarters of the TB cases reported in California were found in foreign natives.

Public health officials are not concerned enough by this. As for me? I'm terrified. Because the most frightening part of this is that there are emerging strains of drug-resistant TB being brought into the country by illegal immigrants who, of course, bypass the health screenings regularly conducted with legal immigrants.

2. Chagas disease
You've probably never heard of this "kissing bug disease," but Latin Americans know it all too well. And why shouldn't they? It affects more than 18 MILLION people there every year-and 50,000 of those die. In fact, it's the leading cause of heart failure in Latin America.

The bugs that spread it (triatomine bugs) are endearingly called "kissing bugs" because they prefer to feed on your lips and face. There's nothing sweet about their kisses, though. They nibble on your face while you're sleeping… then they defecate on you. If the feces enter your body through mucous membranes or breaks in your skin, you'll contract the disease.

Some people present no symptoms, and others will only end up with common cold symptoms. But the disease can also cause local swelling, enlargement of your liver or spleen, and swollen glands. It can get progressively worse from there-leading to an enlarged esophagus, enlarged heart, heart failure, altered heart rate, and sometimes cardiac arrest. Up to 30 percent will eventually die… when their heart or intestines actually explodes.

This disease isn't contagious, and chances are you won't run into these little buggers-but that doesn't mean you're free and clear. Blood tainted with Chagas disease has turned up in our blood supplies, and some transplanted organs are infected with the disease as well. Right now, there are three proven cases of people receiving Chagas-infected organs. Two of them died.
 
3. Leprosy
Leprosy seems to be on the decline all around the world-everywhere, that is, except for the U.S. That's right, from 2005 to 2006, when the world was experiencing at 13.4 percent DECREASE in leprosy cases, cases in the U.S. shot up higher than ever.

Forty or so years ago, less than 900 people in the U.S. were afflicted with leprosy. But in just the last three years, that number has ballooned by 800 PERCENT-with over 7,000 new cases reported. What's going on here?

Right now, you're probably thinking: Leprosy, that Biblical disease? But disease of Biblical proportions is more like it. It's a horrific disease, the likes of which you can't fully understand unless you see it. (If you're not the squeamish type, try Googling the term "leprosy" and see what comes up.)

Just like the others, this is an imported disease. Dr. Terry Williams, who runs a clinic for lepers, says that most of the cases he sees are imported from all over the world…like Africa, the Philippines, China, and South America.

4. Dengue fever
This is another illness that most people in America have never heard of. But not too long ago, a Texas town that borders Mexico experienced an outbreak. Can you imagine why that could be? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this mosquito-borne illness is on the rise in Mexico and throughout Latin America.

The classic form of the disease consists of fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, and rashes-and sometimes nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. But the hemorrhagic form isn't quite so vanilla. As the name implies, it causes both internal and external bleeding…including bloody diarrhea, vomiting blood, and bleeding from mucosa.

The only thing doctors recommend is "supportive therapy," such as staying hydrated and possibly a blood transfusion (just make sure it's not tainted with Chagas disease). In other words, there's no cure.

5. Whooping cough
Another "ancient disease" on the rise. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics is saying that it's worse now than it's been in the last 40 years.

This isn't just your run-of-the-mill cough, either. It's caused by an airborne bacteria called Bordetella pertussis. It attacks your breathing passages and narrows your airways, which leads to intense coughing and difficulty breathing. It's especially dangerous for kids, and it can be deadly for infants.

6. Cysticercosis
This is a parasitic disease caused by the pork tapeworm, and it's caused by poor food-handling practices. If you're infected, something as simple as not washing your hands after you use the restroom can cause you to contaminate food…and thereby spread it to other victims. The eggs will hatch in your intestine, and then take up residence at any given place in your body.

One man who had a chronic headache ended up having a cyst of tapeworm larvae in his brain. It could have killed him. This isn't a rare situation, either. Hundreds of others have developed neurological diseases because of this tapeworm. (Gives you something to think about when you step into a fast-food restaurant…)

Between 1990 and 2002, 221 people in the U.S. died from cysticercosis. Almost 85 percent of them were born in another country-and 62 percent of that number came from…you guessed it… Mexico. Of the 33 American who died, 60 percent were living in California.

But since cysticercosis isn't on the radar screen of most doctors and clinics, I'm betting that most cases go undiagnosed-which means that the severity of the problem is likely far greater than the numbers indicate. The easiest way to avoid this one…cook your own meals.

7. Morgellons
If it feels like you have bugs crawling under your skin, it might not be your imagination-especially if you live in Texas, Florida, and California, where a mysterious disease called Morgellons is crawling up from its neighbors to the south.

No one knows what causes it, how it's spread, or how to make it go away. The medical establishment has been quick to shrug it off. Victims wish they could do the same.

Victims complain of hair loss, skin thickening, fatigue and joint pain. But the worst part of all has to be unexplained black fibers that come out of their skin. One sufferer said, "It gives you the sensation that you have worms under your skin or rats crawling on you." Another said, "When you lay down, as soon as your head hits the pillow, your hair starts crawling."

8. Polio
We did away with polio back in the 1940s when the advent of the polio vaccine. Since then, you probably haven't worried too much about this viral infectious disease. But polio is nothing to mess with. It has a wide range of severity. It can be as minor as gastrointestinal problems and flu-like symptoms, or it can damage the central nervous system, leading to partial paralysis (as was the case with FDR).

Now, once again, it's on the rise in the U.S., thanks to the infected illegals who bring it across the border with them. Luckily, this is one we do know how to fight, but when was the last time you heard of anyone having

5 way to protect yourself from illegal immigrants and their diseases
OK. Right now you're probably thinking: To hell with being politically correct! How can I avoid these diseases?

I wish I could give you an easy solution, but the problem is just too big for a quick fix. It would be nice if we could ship all the illegals back to where they came from, but let's be honest: We know that's not going to happen. In the meantime, here are a few steps you can take to stay healthy and disease-free.

Your best defense is a healthy immune system. A few of my favorite immune-boosters include lactoferrin, elderberry, chamomile tea-and the cheapest one: sleep.

Wash your hands often. It might be the oldest advice in the book, but it works. And if you're traveling in close quarters-like on a bus or plane-wear a mask.

See if the restaurants you frequent check for these diseases. Do they have Hispanic immigrants handling food? Find out and act accordingly.

If you hire Hispanics, you'll want to see more than a green card. Get a recent medical certificate showing they are not infected with this or any other parasitic disease, such as Giardia lamblia or amebiasis. They should also be checked for TB. Check the fingernails of kitchen workers daily. If they resent it-fire them.

3 foolproof steps we'll never take to curb illegal immigration
Of course, I could go on and on, telling you about the rise of malaria, hepatitis A, B, and C, the increase in all sorts of parasitic infections, and even HIV. But I think you've got the picture. That's a lot of sick people and a lot of serious diseases that we're not quite prepared to fight. 

I'm not a fan of political correctness, so I'm not afraid to tell you that I think it's high time someone in our government did something to stop illegal immigration before it brings this country to its knees-and puts us all in the hospital. It isn't all about Mexico, but that's where a lot of it stops-and could end.

I've got a few of my own ideas of how to stop the impending economic disaster illegals represent:

1. A BORDER FENCE - Politicians say it'll cost too much, but even at its most expensive (an estimated $8 billion, tops), it would be cheaper than the negative lifetime economic impact of just 1.5% of the illegals already in this country.

2. RESCIND BENEFITS - Simply by virtue of their presence in this country, illegal immigrants are entitled to emergency health care, police and fire protection, and every right to privacy, liberty, and due process of law that all American citizens are entitled to. Many states grant them driver's licenses, and many hold mortgages and credit cards. Beyond this, their children, even if born one minute after illegally crossing the border, enjoy full U.S. citizenship, along with all the perks.

3. EMPLOYMENT PROHIBITIONS - Making it a felony for anyone in America to hire an illegal immigrant could go a long way toward discouraging those bent on hopping the border to make a living. If the money river dries up, the "fish" will swim back from whence they came.

Doing just these three things would neutralize the illegal immigrant threat almost overnight. If we did these things, we wouldn't even NEED to make illegal entry or occupancy a crime (another measure being discussed by Republicrats). Nor would we have to go through the costly process of mass deportations.

If illegals found they couldn't work, get benefits, or guarantee their unborn automatic citizenship, they'd go home and make Mexico all it could be (which was the goal of the all-but defunct NAFTA).

Repeated surveys have shown that the vast majority (as much as 87%) of Americans favor the construction of a fence or wall along the entirety of the U.S./Mexico border. But all this evidently means nothing to our elected officials, including our President.

For them, the soul (and health) of America is secondary to votes, cheap labor, tax revenue, and the opportunity to expand government (and their own power) through entitlements like welfare, healthcare, and education assistance.

And so, instead of a return to the fairness and uniquely American concept of large-scale LEGAL immigration and assimilation-one of the pillars of greatness this nation is built upon-we'll end up with a morass of half-measures, none of them effective, and all of them inflating government power while at the same time watering down our once-great entrepreneurial culture into a massive welfare state as stratified by social classes (the "haves" and "have-nots") as any communist country ever was.

References & Additional Information:

• Cosman, Madeleine Pelner, Ph.D., Esq. "Illegal Aliens and American Medicine," Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Vol. 10, No. 1, spring 2005.

• "Chagas Disease Fact Sheet," Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

• "Are illegals making U.S. a leper colony?" WorldNetDaily.com. May 22, 2005.

• Wooldridge, Frosty. "Deadly Diseases Migrating Into America With Illegal Aliens," OfficialWire.com. November 8, 2007

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