A.I.D.S. test ruled out

Press, 19 February 1987, Page 3

A.I.D.S. test ruled out

A mandatory blood test for everyone entering New Zealand has been ruled out by the Health Department as a way of preventing the spread of A.I.D.S. Several countries in the western Pacific which have relatively few reported cases of A.I.D.S. have investigated such a screening programme and all have rejected it. Mr Grant Martindale, of the department’s quarantine section, said New Zealand had considered such a policy some time ago as one of many options to prevent the

spread of A.I.D.S. but had decided against it.

The United States Sur-geon-General, Dr Everett Koop, did not advocate such a policy and the department had taken his statement into account.

Dr Koop said last October that compulsory blood testing was unnecessary, unfeasible, and cost-prohi-bitive. It could also cause irreparable harm. “A negative test result in someone who has been recently infected but not yet developed antibodies might give that person a false sense of security. I|is could lessen the

motivation to adhere to safe sex practices.”

Mr Martindale said the logistics of screening everyone who came into New Zealand would be phenomenal. He knew of only one country — in the Middle East — which had such a policy. Anyone wanting to come to live in New Zealand had to meet various criteria including certain health guidelines, said Mr Martindale.

Because of proposed changes to immigration legislation, these health guidelines were joeing re-

viewed, he said. Mr Ron Malpass, the Immigration Division’s assistant director of permanent entry, said yesterday that under the present Immigration Act anyone with tuberculosis, leprosy, or syphilis was prohibited from coming to live in New Zealand.

New immigration legislation was now before Parliament and was likely to be passed before the end of the year, he said. “The Health Department is yet to advise of any new health requirements that will be part of that legislation.”