Post by unlawflcombatnt on May 7, 2007 20:52:13 GMT -6
Below is some clarification of the heavily-criticized Lou Dobbs commentary about the relationship between illegal immigrants and leprosy. The 1st part of this comes from Christina Romans on the Lou Dobbs show. It relates to the source of the "900 people" with leprosy and the "more than 7,000 cases of leprosy."
Romans:
"I was quoting Dr. Madeline Cosman, a respected medical lawyer and medical historian writing in the "Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons".
She said, "Hansen's disease" -- that's the other modern name, I guess, for leprosy -- "Hansen's disease was so rare in the America that in 40 years only 900 people were afflicted. Suddenly, in the past three years, America has more than 7,000 cases of leprosy"..."
In fact, Romans (and Dobbs) are 100% correct on the numbers, based on Dr. Cosman's report. Dr. Cosman writes "Leprosy, Hansen's disease, was so rare in America that in 40 years only 900 people were afflicted. Suddenly, in the past 3 years America has more than 7,000 cases of leprosy. "
In turn, Dr. Cosman references her article from a February 20, 2003 New York Times article titled Cases of Leprosy on the Rise in U.S. by Sharon Lerner. The passage from the NYT article reads "While there were some 900 recorded cases in the United States 40 years ago, today more than 7,000 people have leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, as it is now called. ‘‘And those are the ones we know about,’’ said Dr. William Levis, attending physician at Bellevue Hospital’s Hansen’s Disease Clinic. ‘‘There are probably many, many more.’’"
Both Dobbs and Romans quoted their source correctly. However, that source added in the "in the past three years" phrase.
Thus, according to the original source for the information (Dr. William Levis of Bellevue), there were only 900 cases of leprosy in the United States "40 years ago" (44 years ago from today), and that there were 7,000 cases as of February 20, 2003. Thus, over those 40 years, the number of leprosy cases in the United States has increased 777%. (This increase, however, has occurred over the last 40 years, not over 3 years.)
Yes, leprosy is on the rise. And from multiple sources, the prevalence of leprosy is much higher in the foreign-born population.
Romans:
"I was quoting Dr. Madeline Cosman, a respected medical lawyer and medical historian writing in the "Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons".
She said, "Hansen's disease" -- that's the other modern name, I guess, for leprosy -- "Hansen's disease was so rare in the America that in 40 years only 900 people were afflicted. Suddenly, in the past three years, America has more than 7,000 cases of leprosy"..."
In fact, Romans (and Dobbs) are 100% correct on the numbers, based on Dr. Cosman's report. Dr. Cosman writes "Leprosy, Hansen's disease, was so rare in America that in 40 years only 900 people were afflicted. Suddenly, in the past 3 years America has more than 7,000 cases of leprosy. "
In turn, Dr. Cosman references her article from a February 20, 2003 New York Times article titled Cases of Leprosy on the Rise in U.S. by Sharon Lerner. The passage from the NYT article reads "While there were some 900 recorded cases in the United States 40 years ago, today more than 7,000 people have leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, as it is now called. ‘‘And those are the ones we know about,’’ said Dr. William Levis, attending physician at Bellevue Hospital’s Hansen’s Disease Clinic. ‘‘There are probably many, many more.’’"
Both Dobbs and Romans quoted their source correctly. However, that source added in the "in the past three years" phrase.
Thus, according to the original source for the information (Dr. William Levis of Bellevue), there were only 900 cases of leprosy in the United States "40 years ago" (44 years ago from today), and that there were 7,000 cases as of February 20, 2003. Thus, over those 40 years, the number of leprosy cases in the United States has increased 777%. (This increase, however, has occurred over the last 40 years, not over 3 years.)
Yes, leprosy is on the rise. And from multiple sources, the prevalence of leprosy is much higher in the foreign-born population.