The Senate is expected this month to reconsider a ban against HIV-positive foreign visitors and immigrants entering the country, a policy that has resulted in harsh international criticism.
Under US law since 1987, foreigners with HIV are not permitted to immigrate or even visit temporarily unless they qualify for narrowly defined waivers. The United States is one of only 13 nations with such a law: Others include Iraq, Qatar, and Armenia.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed an amendment this month to the $50 billion AIDS funding bill that would move toward lifting the ban. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) has sponsored a House version of the amendment.
The ban prompted a boycott of the United States by prominent AIDS advocacy and research groups, which have not held a major international conference in the nation since the early 1990s.
"There is no scientific basis whatsoever for the travel ban and there never has been," said Dr. Mark Kline, head of retrovirology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He added that the ban may indirectly spread HIV by stigmatizing the disease and deterring people from seeking treatment.
In 1987, HHS added HIV/AIDS to the list of "communicable diseases of public health significance" resulting in the travel ban. In 1993, Congress passed specific legislation under the Immigration and Nationality Act that further supported the travel ban.
HIV tests are required for people planning to immigrate permanently, and short-term visitors are questioned when they apply for a visa.
In 2006, UNAIDS stated there is "no public health rationale for restricting liberty of movement or choice of residence on the grounds of HIV status."
03/23/08
UNITED STATES: Ban on Travelers with HIV into US Reviewed
Source: Houston Chronicle:: Susan Carroll; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention