Thousands of Ukrainians seeking asylum are trickling into the U.S., displaced by war with Russia. As more Ukrainians enter Los Angeles, testing and treatment for an insidious disease has quietly spooled up, as health workers search for a contagious bacteria that still poses a threat.
“We did TB testing with Afghan refugees, and now we’re doing it with Ukrainians,” said Dr. Julie Higashi, director of L.A. County’s Tuberculosis Control Program.
LISTEN: Why a county Public Health doctor calls TB ‘a disease of humanity’
Tuberculosis may seem like a relic of the past in wealthy countries, yet it still kills more people worldwide than any other infectious disease besides COVID-19 — with about 1.6 million people dying from TB annually.
“It’s the No. 1 infectious disease killer in the world. And a fourth of the world’s population is infected,” Higashi said.
A ‘disease of humanity’
The temporary Uniting for Ukraine program, put in place by the Biden administration, allows Ukrainian citizens and their families to live in the U.S. for up to two years. Under the streamlined program, anyone 2 years of age or older must meet vaccination requirements and infectious disease screenings — including a blood test for tuberculosis.
To meet the requirement, Dimitri Loboda went to a county-run health clinic in Van Nuys. The 35-year-old arrived in L.A. from Ukraine a few weeks ago to escape Russian bombs and military enlistment.
“For me, I don’t want [to] kill people,” he said.
In Ukraine, he owned a small…
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