Ban on HIV-positive Immigrants to U.S. May Be Lifted
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 1:06:19 PM

A ban that has prohibited individuals testing positive for HIV from immigrating or traveling to the U.S. for the past 22 years may be lifted. A proposed removal was made by officials with the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

One of 12 countries that prohibit HIV-positive immigrants from entering the country, the United States currently has mandatory testing as a part of the U.S. immigration screening process. Those who test positive for HIV are only able to enter the country with a waiver. The proposed removal would do away with both of these requirements.

“We’re trying to end the stigma and the discriminatory practice for a disease that doesn’t warrant exclusion for coming into this country,” Dr. Martin Cetron, director of the CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, told MSNBC. “We have to appreciate this is not a threat we face from abroad.”

Active tuberculosis, syphilis, leprosy and gonorrhea are other diseases that prevent a person from entering the U.S. The sexually transmitted diseases lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), chancroid, and granuloma inguinale are also on that list.

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