Borders, Budgets, and the Rising Risk of Disease

Is there a perfect storm brewing along our nation’s southern border? Let’s take a look at the numbers in El Paso, Texas where I recently visited:

•There are 27 million crossings per year alone at the El Paso Point of Entry (POE)

•Cuts to federal funding including a 50% reduction in the Early Warning Infectious Disease Program as well as 12.5% cuts to critical preparedness and response funding;

• Texas is second in the nation for number of tuberculosis cases, the majority of which are found near the border and many of the cases involve tuberculosis strains that are drug resistant

• The bordering country, Mexico, was the source of the last global influenza pandemic

So is this a bad situation getting worse or ticking bomb?

Website: blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2011/07/borders-budgets-disease/#comments