Twenty-seven percent of the refugees who arrived in Tennessee between 2011 and 2015 tested positive for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), according to data provided to Breitbart News by the Tennessee Office for Refugees (TOR).
TOR is the subsidiary of Catholic Charities of Tennessee that was hired as the federal contractor to run the refugee resettlement program in the Volunteer State after former Gov. Phil Bredesen withdrew the state from the federal program in 2008.
TOR, however, has not been able to provide evidence that it has “assure[d]…… that refugees, known to the agency as having been identified . . . as having medical conditions affecting the public health and requiring treatment [such as active and latent TB], report to the appropriate county or other health agency,” or subsequently monitored their health status, both requirements of the Refugee Act of 1980.
Nor has either TOR or the Tennessee Department of Health been able to provide Breitbart News with information concerning the number of these refugees, if any, who were diagnosed with active TB on their arrival, as several other states (Colorado, Florida, Indiana), and one county (in Kentucky) have been able to do.
The refugee health data provided to Breitbart News by TOR makes Tennessee the state with the second highest rate of LTBI among recently resettled refugees in the nine states that have either publicly reported the information, or provided it upon request to Breitbart News.
The eight other states, in order of the percentage of resettled refugees who test positive for LTBI are (continue reading)