HIV to be Removed From List of Diseases Barring Entry to US

Foreigners who have HIV would be allowed to travel and immigrate to the United States under a plan by federal health officials to lift a 22-year ban on infected visitors that critics say was unnecessary from the start.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are seeking public comment through Aug. 17 on the proposal, which would remove HIV from the list of diseases that can bar entry to the country and do away with HIV testing as part of medical exams for permanent residence and, in some cases, travel visas, msnbc.com reports.

Meanwhile, an AIDS advocacy group is taking legal steps to make Los Angeles health officials enforce health and safety rules on pornography film sets to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted disease.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation filed a petition in Superior Court Thursday. In it, the group claims that in the month since an actress tested positive for HIV, the county Department of Public Health has done little to address what it considers to be a serious health threat , San Jose Mercury News reports.

At the same time, aspiring barbers, masseuses, and home health care aides cannot be denied professional licenses because they have AIDS or HIV, federal authorities said Thursday.

The Justice Department is advising state authorities that it is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act to stop someone with the HIV virus from getting such licenses or not admitting them to occupational training schools.

For instance, some states require cosmetologists be free from contagious, communicable or infections diseases. The government says that type of regulation is outdated and was not intended to bar people with HIV, The Associated Press reports.