AMARILLO, TEXAS -- Amarillo's Department of Public Health will be receiving a grant to help fund tuberculosis testing, which in turn will benefit the refugee health screening program.
It will also help fund TB testing for everybody. However, it's mostly refugees moving to the city who are required to get the testing done, and it's expensive. The grant is for $45,000, and that brings the total cost of the refugee contract to over $400,000.
"One of the reason is because they come from a foreign country that has a high incident. A lot of the refugees, they live in camps very close in proximity to one another. Hygiene maybe not so well, there's just a lot of disparities there, " said Hector Mendoza, Assistant Director of Public Health Department.
"We are very excited that we were able to continue both the refugee and TB contract. They bring very important services to the citizens of Amarillo, both Potter and Randall Counties and we just look forward to being able to provide these services to whoever needs them."
Mendoza said TB is not a common illness in the area. Only 12 to 13 cases have been reported over the last couple of years.
