TB

You thought swine flu was a pandemic. So did the government. They said so. However, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has said, Tuberculosis is the top single and infectious killer of adults worldwide. It lies dormant in 1 in 3 people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Of those, 10% will develop active TB and about 2 million people a year will die from it.

 

In a recent expose' a 19 yr old Peruvian man studying English, in all places, Florida, developed an extremely drug resistant (XXDR) TB. WOW! I think he developed it in Peru. Because it's never been seen in the US. XXDR TB is so rare that only a handful of other people in the world are thought to have it. Hmmmmmmmm. Maybe we should be testing for TB, as long as we're body scanning for bombs. However, that's difficult to profile. Better that they come and spread a drug resistant disease to America. Al Gore might like it. It will reduce the population. Copenhagen may develop a treaty.

 

Just as the government should have known about the Christmas Day bomber, since he was profiled by his own father, the WHO has issued a warning that has been ignored. In April 2009, WHO held it's 1st drug-resistant TB conference. The message was clear. The disease has already spread to all continents, and is increasing rapidly. Even worse, WHO estimates, only 1% of resistant patients receive appropriate treatment.

 

The 19 yr old Peruvian underwent 3 months of futile treatment in a Florida hospital, then was sent to a state hospital. The state hospital is only partially funded. His treatment cost Florida tax-payers an estimated $5 million. The director of the state hospital says, this seems like an astronomical amount to spend on someone who 'se not an American citizen.

 

About 60 million people visit the United States every year, and most are not screened before arrival.  Eighty-two percent of the multi-drug resistant patients in the US were foreign born.  And we're worried about swine-flu? The government's worried about swine-flu? Some states passed legislation, later rescinded, that would mandate vaccination for swine-flu?  Something's crazy here. No mandate for people coming into the country to be screened for TB.

 

Even crazier, in July 2009, after 19 months on the tax-payer, the 19 yr. old, now 21, packed a suitcase and walked out the hospital door into Florida' streets. Hope he's not coming to a theatre near you.