Border Doctor: Previously-Deported Illegal Alien with Tuberculosis Ignored by Feds
8 Jul 2014
HOUSTON, Texas--A source told Breitbart Texas that an illegal immigrant from Guatemala is currently being treated for active tuberculosis (TB) at the University Medical Center (UMC) of El Paso.
Dr. Elizabeth Lee Vliet--a preventive medicine physician and former Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)--has practices in Arizona and Texas. Vliet claimed that one of her patients, whose name can not be disclosed for confidentiality reasons, called her with fears that the TB-positive immigrant was putting other lives at risk.
Vliet said her patient informed her that ICE and DHS would not take the illegal immigrant--who was previously deported but is now back in the U.S.--into custody.
A representative at UMC El Paso told Breitbart Texas that information on the supposedly infected individual could not be released. "HIPAA prevents us from releasing any information about specific diagnoses," the spokeswoman said.
She added, however, that "five El Paso hospitals are currently treating immigrants."
Vliet claimed that another employee at UMC El Paso called the Center for Disease Control (CDC)--the CDC apparently said they would "look into" the situation, but was unclear about when action could be taken. Breitbart Texas' calls to the CDC were not immediately returned.
Vliet expressed concern to Breitbart Texas that the allegedly infected illegal immigrant could be released into general population before the CDC gets to him.
TB is usually found in the lungs and can be fatal. The infectious disease is typically spread through the air and contracted via sneezes or coughs. Several cases of the disease have already been identified within the illegal immigrant population--but the fear of TB's potential to spread is ultimately
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