The Washington Times ran a special investigative report today on the rise of contagious and other diseases in the U.S. that have been imported from southeast Asia and Latin America. It’s an interesting read. Here’s the intro:

Contagious diseases are entering the United States because of immigrants, illegal aliens, refugees and travelers, and World Health Organization officials say the worst could be yet to come.

In addition to a list of imported diseases that includes tuberculosis, sickle cell anemia, hepatitis B, measles and the potentially deadly parasitic disease Chagas, officials fear what could happen if the avian flu, which is flourishing among poultry in Southeast Asia, mutates so that it is capable of human-to-human transmission through casual contact…

More on the TB/Hmong angle here, here, and here.

Canada has a problem, too.