MIGRANT DISEASE: 35 Percent of Refugees in Vermont Positive for Latent TB, State Officials Silent on Active TB

Thirty-five percent of the 901 refugees resettled in Vermont by the federal government between 2013 and 2016 tested positive for latent TB infection, according to data provided to Vermont Watchdog by the Vermont Department of Health.

Officials with the Vermont Department of Health, however, refused to tell Vermont Watchdog how many of these refugees, if any, arrived with the active or infectious form of TB, or are currently being treated for active TB.

The population of Vermont is almost 630,000.

Roughly 70,000 refugees are accepted each year for resettlement around the United States, and are put on a fast-track to citizenship, with full access to the welfare state. President Barack Obama wants to sharply increase the inflow of refugees.

Other states have seen the disease threat posed by refugees resettled by the federal government increase in recent years. For example, the federal refugee program sent...

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