This from the Palm Beach Post:
“A tuberculosis outbreak in Jacksonville was one of the worst his group had investigated in 20 years. Linked to 13 deaths and 99 illnesses, including six children, it would require concerted action to stop.
“That report had been penned on April 5, exactly nine days after Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill that shrank the Department of Health and required the closure of the A.G. Holley State Hospital in Lantana, where tough tuberculosis cases have been treated for more than 60 years.”
While I’d rather be criticizing Scott for his insurgence of voter de-registration, this seems to be an even more dismal and insidious action by the radical Republican.
Doctors without Borders has commented on Scott’s action and the danger of a TB epidemic:
TB is a “disease that primarily affects the most vulnerable layers of society: the unemployed, the homeless, drug addicts, and, of course, prisoners. However, once a certain level of epidemic has been reached, the transmission of TB escalates and anyone, regardless of his or her social class, can contract the disease.”
A.G. Holley State Hospital being shut down
Information on the April outbreak was hidden from the public and did not appear in the press until June. Why it was being concealed is open to question. Scott’s administration says it was to avoid public concern. I t did nothing, however to prevent spreading of the disease, nor the closing of A. G. Holly six months ahead of schedule. In Jacksonville, victims are being housed in motel rooms to be minimally treated,… not by any means adequate health care.
It should also be noted that Scott is one of the Republican governors who has currently rejected Obamacare and, thus, will prevent uninsured citizens from getting any coverage.
May I suggest that the way the rest of America can deal with this situation, and prevent the disease from moving beyond Florida, is to avoid all Florida vacations this yearf. This could make enough of an economic cost to the state that they might reopen their tuberculosis facility and provide treatment for the Floridians whose lungs are infected.
