The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported a significant increase in imported malaria cases in three southern border jurisdictions during 2023, according to the Epoch Times.
According to the agency, Pima, Arizona, San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas, collectively experienced a 143 percent surge in malaria cases compared to the previous year.
Enhanced case investigations revealed that the majority of these cases occurred among newly arrived migrants, including asylum seekers.
“Because malaria case counts were higher than expected, enhanced case investigations were initiated,” the CDC stated in their May 9 report.
Dr. Eric Cioe-Pena, an emergency medicine physician at Staten Island University Hospital, expressed concern about the presence of malaria within the U.S., attributing the spread to “importation of the disease by travelers returning from regions where malaria is prevalent.”
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The CDC’s report also highlighted the severity of the disease among the affected individuals, with 63 out of 68 cases requiring hospitalization and nearly a third experiencing severe symptoms. “Severe malaria was more common among ‘other newly arrived migrants’ than among American residents,” the agency noted.
Earlier this year, local officials discovered that a Chinese national was running an illegal biolab in California. This lab was packed with nasty stuff like dengue, COVID-19, HIV, malaria, tuberculosis. THREAD pic.twitter.com/yTLjTGFLKM
— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) December 4, 2023
In addition to malaria, illegal immigrants have brought other illnesses into the United States, such as tuberculosis.
A report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed that thousands of illegal immigrant children with tuberculosis were released from government custody last year.
Aurora Miranda-Maese, an HHS official, warned that if tuberculosis were to become active, it would pose “a threat to both the individual’s and the public’s health.”
The situation has sparked controversy in cities like Chicago, where officials recently confirmed a few cases of tuberculosis among recently arrived illegal immigrants.
Alderman Raymond Lopez criticized the city’s handling of the situation, claiming that those who demanded action to protect residents were labeled as “racist, xenophobic, and anti-immigrant by fringe politicians.”
