In2HiDef
07-15-2014, 09:16 PM
Health authorities at a Navy base in Southern California took steps last weekend to curtail an outbreak of pneumonia and swine flu among illegal immigrant children housed at the facility, according to U.S. officials.
The outbreak of disease among several of the nearly 600 immigrant children at the Naval Base Ventura County, located north of Los Angeles, initially was thought to be caused by deadly bacterial streptococcal meningitis, according to one official close to the issue.
However, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said he was not aware of any cases of meningitis at the base.
The pneumonia cases and meningitis scare last weekend followed two cases of H1N1 swine flu among other child immigrants—one at the California base and another in Texas. The virus caused a global pandemic in 2009, but officials said it is considered less dangerous than the pneumonia and initially suspected meningitis outbreak that began over the past weekend.
Naval officials, along with HHS and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) officials, sought to block the disease outbreak by quarantines and halting transfers of children into and out of the facility.
Several of the children developed symptoms that included fever and were at first thought to be meningitis.
The swine flu case, discovered late last week, involved a 16-year-old Salvadoran boy who, like others at the facility, had been transferred recently from Nogales, Ariz.
The sick children were moved to local hospitals where they are being treated.
HHS spokesman Kenneth J. Wolfe said reports of respiratory illness at the naval base involved minors who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and who had been relocated.
“Preliminary reports indicate that several unaccompanied minors in the shelter had become ill with what appears to be pneumonia and influenza,” he said in a statement to the Free Beacon. The illnesses “likely pose little or no risk to the general public,” he added.
The arriving children have been screened at U.S. border stations for health problems and given medical treatment if needed, he said.
For Pentagon locations, children have been given childhood vaccinations three days prior to entering Defense Department facilities.
“If it is determined that children have certain communicable diseases or have been exposed to such communicable diseases, they are placed in a program or facility that has the capacity to quarantine,” Wolfe said. “Children with serious health conditions are treated at local hospitals. The cost of this care is fully paid by the federal government.”
Both diseases are contagious. According to the CDC, pneumonia is caused by bacteria or viruses and can be severe.
The H1N1 virus is considered less dangerous and has been detected in the United States since the 2009 pandemic. The swine flu virus jumped from pigs to humans and can be fatal in some cases.
The boy who contracted swine flu was part of the flood of illegal immigrant children who have crossed the Mexican border into the United States over the past several months. The crisis is straining both border patrol and law enforcement resources.
Other immigrant children are being held at bases in Texas and Oklahoma. The current plan calls for releasing the immigrant children to relatives prior to their court proceedings on illegal immigration charges.
A U.S. official said that in addition to the Salvadoran youth treated for swine flu, another case of swine flu was detected in June at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. More than 1,000 immigrant children are being held at Lackland.
CDC did not comment directly on the disease outbreaks in California.
“CDC is providing consultation to federal partners that are leading the response to the increase in unaccompanied children entering the United States,” the center said in a statement.
More at http://freebeacon.com/national-security/outbreak-on-the-border/
The outbreak of disease among several of the nearly 600 immigrant children at the Naval Base Ventura County, located north of Los Angeles, initially was thought to be caused by deadly bacterial streptococcal meningitis, according to one official close to the issue.
However, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said he was not aware of any cases of meningitis at the base.
The pneumonia cases and meningitis scare last weekend followed two cases of H1N1 swine flu among other child immigrants—one at the California base and another in Texas. The virus caused a global pandemic in 2009, but officials said it is considered less dangerous than the pneumonia and initially suspected meningitis outbreak that began over the past weekend.
Naval officials, along with HHS and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) officials, sought to block the disease outbreak by quarantines and halting transfers of children into and out of the facility.
Several of the children developed symptoms that included fever and were at first thought to be meningitis.
The swine flu case, discovered late last week, involved a 16-year-old Salvadoran boy who, like others at the facility, had been transferred recently from Nogales, Ariz.
The sick children were moved to local hospitals where they are being treated.
HHS spokesman Kenneth J. Wolfe said reports of respiratory illness at the naval base involved minors who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and who had been relocated.
“Preliminary reports indicate that several unaccompanied minors in the shelter had become ill with what appears to be pneumonia and influenza,” he said in a statement to the Free Beacon. The illnesses “likely pose little or no risk to the general public,” he added.
The arriving children have been screened at U.S. border stations for health problems and given medical treatment if needed, he said.
For Pentagon locations, children have been given childhood vaccinations three days prior to entering Defense Department facilities.
“If it is determined that children have certain communicable diseases or have been exposed to such communicable diseases, they are placed in a program or facility that has the capacity to quarantine,” Wolfe said. “Children with serious health conditions are treated at local hospitals. The cost of this care is fully paid by the federal government.”
Both diseases are contagious. According to the CDC, pneumonia is caused by bacteria or viruses and can be severe.
The H1N1 virus is considered less dangerous and has been detected in the United States since the 2009 pandemic. The swine flu virus jumped from pigs to humans and can be fatal in some cases.
The boy who contracted swine flu was part of the flood of illegal immigrant children who have crossed the Mexican border into the United States over the past several months. The crisis is straining both border patrol and law enforcement resources.
Other immigrant children are being held at bases in Texas and Oklahoma. The current plan calls for releasing the immigrant children to relatives prior to their court proceedings on illegal immigration charges.
A U.S. official said that in addition to the Salvadoran youth treated for swine flu, another case of swine flu was detected in June at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. More than 1,000 immigrant children are being held at Lackland.
CDC did not comment directly on the disease outbreaks in California.
“CDC is providing consultation to federal partners that are leading the response to the increase in unaccompanied children entering the United States,” the center said in a statement.
More at http://freebeacon.com/national-security/outbreak-on-the-border/