I would like to respond to the Monday evening (May 16) KVLY report that New Americans present a health threat to our community because a higher proportion of non-American born individuals have tested positive for TB than American-born individuals.

The reporter did not report on any true event in our community, rather he created fear by using nationwide data to imply that we are under threat. His lack of understanding of the difference between latent TB (positive test, but not contagious) and active TB (contagious, and strictly managed by infectious disease control experts) was evident.

Finally, from a humanistic perspective, the reporter was guilty of "victim-blaming," where the victim of an event, in this case these New Americans who have been exposed to TB due to the high-risk situations in which they had been living, are blamed for the harm that resulted from it, a positive TB test. In my opinion victims are to be defended and protected, not blamed. New Americans are not a threat to our health, they are welcomed, contributing members of our community, just like I was when I moved to Fargo six years ago.

Strand lives in Fargo.