No Move to Screen Tourists for HIV, Indian Health Official Says

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[AEGiS] Digest Volume 911 number 2

"No Move to Screen Tourists for HIV, Indian Health Official Says"

Deutsche Presse-Agentur (04.29.02)

R.K. Kalia, deputy secretary of the Indian government's National AIDS Control Organization, on Monday denied there are plans to test foreign tourists for HIV. "There is no such move. It is only mandatory for foreigners staying on for more than a year to undergo tests for HIV," Kalia told the DPA. The BBC last week quoted Health Minister Chandresh Thakur as saying a proposal to test foreigners for HIV had been forwarded to tourism andexternal affairs ministries for consideration. Human rights groups warned that if Thakur's proposal were implemented, it would be a rights violation, while tourism industry sources said it would cut the number of visitors arriving from abroad.

Forwarded by Venkatesan Chakrapani

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