DailyMail.comDenmark announces unvaccinated refugees have brought diphtheria into the country after a 20-year absence
Refugees have brought the potentially fatal and highly contagious bacterial infection diphtheria into Denmark and authorities are warning hospitals there could be an outbreak.
Two Libyan refugees were found to have the infection, the Danish State Serum Institute (SSI) said on Tuesday.
Diphtheria – spread through coughs and sneezes, or contact with someone with the infection or their belongings – has not been seen in the country since 1998.
‘The infection [diphtheria] can be very dangerous if one isn’t vaccinated against it,’ Kurt Fuursted, spokesperson for the SSI told Danish newspaper Metroxpress.
‘There is no doubt that infectious diseases are coming in with the refugees that we aren’t used to. There have been discussions on whether all refugees who come to Denmark should be screened.’
The newspaper also reported that other refugees had been found suffering from tuberculosis and malaria.
Health Minister Sophie Lunde told Metroxpress that officials will discuss possible changes to screening policies.
The Danish vaccination programme recommends that babies are inoculated against diphtheria.
About diphtheria, from the CDC:
Diphtheria once was a major cause of illness and death among children. The U.S. recorded 206,000 cases of diphtheria in 1921, resulting in 15,520 deaths. Before there was treatment for diphtheria, up to half of the people who got the disease died from it.
Starting in the 1920s, diphtheria rates dropped quickly in the U.S. and other countries that began widely vaccinating. In the past decade, there were less than five cases of diphtheria in the U.S. reported to CDC. However, the disease continues to play a role globally. In 2011, 4,887 cases of diphtheria were reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), but there are likely many more cases.
Symptoms of diphtheria:
When the bacteria that cause diphtheria invade the respiratory system, they produce a poison (toxin) that can cause:
- Weakness
- Sore throat
- Fever
- Swollen glands in the neck
Within two to three days, a thick coating can build up in the throat or nose, making it very hard to breathe and swallow. This thick gray coating is called a “pseudomembrane” and it can build up over the nasal tissues, tonsils, voice box, and throat.
The pseudomembrane is formed from dead tissue caused by the toxin that is produced by the bacteria. The pseudomembrane sticks to the tissue below and may get in the way of breathing. The toxin may be absorbed into the blood stream and may cause damage to the heart, kidneys and nerves.
Stella's Place 
I don’t know if things have changed since Obama, but I do know pre-Obama if you wanted to go to certain countries you were forced to get certain vaccinations. At least this was the case for those I know who went hunting in Africa.
I also know that my nephew before being sent to Afghanistan was given all kinds of shots. I have talked to others in the military who have said the same, half the time not knowing what all they were getting.
So I will never understand if it’s a good idea to give vaccinations to prevent contracting a disease in other countries and bringing it back here, then why in the heck do we allow citizens from other countries to come here with no medical screening and no vaccinations?
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That’s too logical for the government, michellc!
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I had this argument with someone back during the ebola crap. They didn’t like me saying anyone who went to a country with ebola or anyone coming from a country with ebola should be quarantined as soon as their feet hit our soil. I was given the false argument that we have never done that to our own citizens or immigrants. Even after proving them wrong they still argued that’s what made us great we welcome everyone with open arms and always have and it’s a risk we’ve always been willing to take. This argument didn’t take place with a liberal democrat, but with a so called Conservative Republican.
My daughter told me we need to come up with a list of ten questions to ask someone before we bother to have a discussion with them, so we know before we waste our time, because far too many are liberals are at heart.
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Ten? You could prolly shorten that list to 3 …. jus’ sayin’ ….
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They used to screen them rigorously – I don’t know when it changed.
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They also used to quarantine households when a family member had a communicable disease.
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It amazes me that people do not know this and do not know about Ellis Island.
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Our entire house was quarantined in the late 50s when I had scarlet fever. No one was allowed to leave. The doctor actually made house calls to our house. I was quite young but have memories if this. Both sides of my family spent time at Ellis Island. I think it stopped when vaccinations and treatments were found, but do not know for sure.
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“Legal” immigrants who go through the proper channels are still screened. You have to be examined by an “empaneled” physician, have bloodwork and a chest x-ray. I was exempt from the chest x-ray because I was pregnant. But we all had to have a second series of MMR. The fees are pretty exorbitant too, and it’s not like you can shop around – you have to go to one of them on the short list given to you by the consulate/embassy.
“Illegal” aliens are just exempt from all of that, because racism. Or something.
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One of the things that irritates me about all of this, and which is NEVER discussed, is that a complete series of basic immunizations is DIRT CHEAP and heavily subsidized by First World countries through the UN & WHO. Not only that, many of these are coming from a wealthy part of the world – except that the wealth isn’t equalized at all (but that’s okay with Barky and Mooch). The governments of Saudi et al will subsidize cooking oil and rice, but don’t ensure their citizens get immunizations? It’s inexcusable, which is why the intel world theory that they are deliberate bipedal bioweapons being launched at Europe.
Vaccinations only work under an “all or none” paradigm.
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When my DH came to this country from the UK, he was screened for his vaccinations and HIV and TB. He also heard them tell a whole family they could not come here because the Dad was HIV positive. Has this changed, or is Olamabama just giving a pass to “his people”?
Inquiring minds want to know…
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I haven’t found anything (so far) that says our government REQUIRES medical screening. There are guidelines and recommendations. This White House site says that, “The need for medical screening is determined”, which indicates to me that not all refugees are screened.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/11/20/infographic-screening-process-refugee-entry-united-states
Let me know if you find anything that points to mandatory screening.
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Sorry – answered up thread before reading down here.
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https://www.usimmigration.com/medical-exam.html. I hope this helps, I found it under US Immigration laws. DH had to go all the way to London from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne twice. Once for Medical tests and again 2 weeks later to get his interview.
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I am pretty sure that refugees are not treated the same as other immigrants. It’s always the people who follow the rules that must conform to more regulations!
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I believe every safeguard set up for reasonable immigration is waived for the refugees other than the brutal and hard to pass question and answer session.
Question Do you want to kill babies and feast on puppies?
Answer “No”
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That’s what it looks like to me.
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Click to access i-693instr.pdf
This is the instructions on the .gov website for the physical exam. You have to have a pre-approved civil surgeon do the examination. DH was in The Royal Navy for 22 years, so he had a complete record of his vaccinations, but they still did HIV, TB and syphilis tests.
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😷
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That’s cute.
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Add: The TB that the current crop of migrants are carriers of has been found, in the majority of cases, to be antibiotic-resistant TB (that goes for the migrants from Mexico/Central America and the migrants from Africa/ME). Even non-resistant TB that can be effectively treated with currently available antibiotics, the course of treatment is (a) long (b) expensive and (c) requires that the infected person have lifelong (expensive) monitoring to ensure that the TB remains latent.
Another reason NOT to send your children to public schools. I’m not kidding.
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