While the Left is worried about women’s health care being forced “back to the 1950’s,” a disease rampant in the early 20th century may be on the rebound, thanks to the lax, no-holds-barred immigration policies of the Obama administration, and yes, some Republicans too.

Say hello to tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis was and remains a devastating disease, the leading cause of death in the United States in the 19th century and early 20th century.  It affected my family during the 1930’s. My paternal grandmother and her daughter, my father’s sister, both contracted the illness. They spent time at this Tuberculosis Sanitarium, still standing in Crown Point, Indiana. My grandmother survived. Her daughter, who would’ve become my aunt, did not.

Now comes news from Lynn, Massachusetts, that more than 30 health care workers and some 800 patients are to be tested for the deadly disease, after a male worker there tested positive for TB.

Earlier this summer, reports surfaced that tuberculosis at immigration camps in Texas had become a dangerous situation.  While the Texas State Department of Health Services Commissioner reported only three cases of TB among about 7000 children treated, several other health workers at the camps were concerned that the situation was much worse. 

Consider this. The Center for Disease Control reported that in 2012, 63% of all tuberculosis cases in the United States occurred in foreign-born individuals. While the 9,945 cases of TB reported in 2012 comprised the lowest number since 1953, one can’t help but wonder if the influx of new illegal immigrants from Central America has begun an increase in cases. Dr. Marc Siegel, professor of Medicine at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, reported that TB appears to be spreading in southern Texas. What’s worse, he worries, is that the strain of TB from Central America may be drug resistant: 

“Some of the tuberculosis that comes from Central America is drug resistant. It’s not easier to spread but it is harder to treat. I’m concerned about that.”

Thanks to the breakdown at the borders, we may need to update these old warning posters to parents of schoolchildren.