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Elite Member
Group: Moderators
Last Login: 8/25/2008 7:47 AM
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Leprosy outbreak causes concerns in Northwest Arkansas
SPRINGDALE - The medical community is warning the public: a leprosy outbreak
in Springdale could blossom into an epidemic, if something isn't done soon.
Doctors say at least nine cases of leprosy have been confirmed in
Springdale. Local doctors say they would be shocked by even one case of
leprosy in their entire career, so they say something must be done soon, in
order to stop leprosy's spread.
Springdale MD Jennifer Bingham says, "my initial response was: I am shocked.
I am shocked we are seeing this. It's a true reason to be very worried."
Medical specialists say the Marshall Islands have the most cases of leprosy,
in the world. And the city with the largest number of Marshallese people,
outside the Marshall islands, is Springdale. And Bingham says, it makes
sense, then, that leprosy is spreading to the city. "It's from the Marshall
islands; that's why we're seeing it."
Bingham says she is all for Marshallese people entering the United States,
after proper medical tests. But whether they're immigrants or not, she says
people must stick to treatment, when infected. And she says, when she treats
those from the Marshall Islands, this doesn't happen. "We're not getting the
compliance that is absolutely essential to take care of this process."
Bingham says without cooperation, leprosy, which has no vaccine, and is
transmitted through the air, will spread, and could easily become an
epidemic. "People absolutely should be concerned. What I'm afraid of, is
when people start thinking about it enough, it will already be out of
control."
So now, Bingham, and others like Mayoral candidate Nancy Jenkins, say
government help is the next step. Jenkins says she's angered the federal
government has been so lax with border patrol. She says, "We've just opened
the borders and said, 'Come on in! Bring your diseases! Bring 'em!' Why are
we doing that? Those who have it need to be quarantined and treated, or sent
back to their country."
Dr. Bingham is requesting the public take action, and write everyone from
legislators, and presidential candidates, to Congress, and the Health
Department. Shey says, "the only way to truly protect our community and our
economic growth, is to think of this as a very important, panic-mode attempt
to treat leprosy: before it gets out of hand."
Doctors say leprosy will appear as a discoloration, or nodules, on the skin,
especially the fingers, toes, arms, and face. With treatment, it is curable,
but it can take from six months, to two years, to completely disappear.
Springdale is also reporting over 100 cases of tuberculosis.
Located In Rockford Michigan
Hand fed baby Lovebirds and cockatiels
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