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Er, not my idea. But from Human Rights department at Dubai Police according to 7days today. Might be tricky to implement. Maybe everyone buys an e-gate card on arrival and a needle jabs you as you stick your finger on the scanner ...

Tourists could face AIDS test

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Published on: Saturday, 13th May, 2006 | Permanent Link | no responses

Police are looking at ways to screen tourists for AIDS.

It’s not clear how the tests would work, but anyone found to have the virus would be refused admission to the country, said Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Al Mur, director of the human rights department at Dubai police.

Al Mur also announced plans to conduct an official count of HIV carriers in the UAE to aid in planning a national campaign to tackle the disease, after admitting authorities have no idea how many people suffer from it.

I think it is a good idea for tourists to show proof of AIDS-free status before coming to the UAE. With all the prostitutes coming here without obtaining official residency (which includes an AIDS test), then the men here sleeping with them - the AIDS rate could be quite high here. These men then go home and pass it on to their wives.

kanelli wrote:I think it is a good idea for tourists to show proof of AIDS-free status before coming to the UAE. With all the prostitutes coming here without obtaining official residency (which includes an AIDS test), then the men here sleeping with them - the AIDS rate could be quite high here. These men then go home and pass it on to their wives.

Not a nice present to bring back from Dubai!



Knight

"dont get fish for tea dear, i'm coming home with the crabs"

Well in principle it's a good idea, but not sure how you'd implement it.

Definately the working girls should be tested.

There also needs to be better care and awareness for locals infected with the disease.

Education on the matter is paramount, but saldy it's still one of those taboo things, that people still stick their head in the sand over.

Chocoholic wrote:Well in principle it's a good idea, but not sure how you'd implement it.

Definately the working girls should be tested.

Ah sorry C and K , but in principle I think it's worse than pointless, as well as impractical - UAE is expecting 15 million tourists annually by 2010 (or is it 2015)? So that's 40,000 Aids tests per day . Bringing a certificate is more practical perhaps but I expect that would put many tourists off coming here. Imagine Mum and Dad and three kids all having to go for a test before their holiday in the sun. And frequent travellers (business or tourist) would have to get one each time?

Resident expats have 3 years between tests to go to other high-risk countries and get infected and then infect people here - tourists or residents.

Is it correct that the virus can stay dormant and undetectable for several months after infection?

And besides all that, it's not something you catch like a cold. You have to share needles or have fun with someone to be at risk (unless you're extremely unlucky with a blood transfusion for example).

The point about husbands infecting wives is a good one but I don't see that vetting all tourists is going to make a noticeable difference (perhaps just test married males - that'd go down well ). I think husbands are more likely to visit other Asian and European countries for that kind of nocturnal amusement.

Can't imagine how you'd begin to check "working girls". That kind of system works well in somewhere like Amsterdam because they're working legally there.

And I think the worst thing about the idea is that it would introduce a degree of complacency with tourists which I suspect already exists amongst some expats - by getting past the HIV test they think they and other expats they meet are "safe". Hardly ...

arniegang wrote:"dont get fish for tea dear, i'm coming home with the crabs"

english humor!

kanelli wrote:I think it is a good idea for tourists to show proof of AIDS-free status before coming to the UAE. With all the prostitutes coming here without obtaining official residency (which includes an AIDS test), then the men here sleeping with them - the AIDS rate could be quite high here. These men then go home and pass it on to their wives.

the percentage of tourist that might raise the AIDS rate i think it's much more lower than the contribution of the prostitutes u mentioned. now. there is the problem: the prostitues , who in any case dont hold all the resposability for it but also the men who r encourageing the situation by looking after the services they provide. and the authorities who fake blindness, pretending that they dont exist. if they will open up the eyes and take attitude, the better thing to do is to test them each 6 months, but that would make it become a legal issue and for sure it will lead to a media and social scandal in a muslim country where prostitution should not be a reality...at least in theory. complicated! but an AiDS test wont hurt the tourists, so why not?

Sharewadi,

Yes the disease is undeteectable in the initial stages. Normally if a person believes they have been intimate with some who's infected or believes they contracted it via anothe method, then an initial blood test is done, which will normally be negative, but then the person will have to wait an agonising 3 to 4, maybe 6 months for the second test which could be positive as it can take this long to develop.

Thanks C. I thought I'd heard something like that.

I can't believe that there are actually people here, who say 'that's a good idea'.
Imagine the catalogues of tour operators all over the world, that say 'AIDS test will be performed on arrival'.
Now take a guess... how many tourists will still choose Dubai as their destination?
There are other destinations, than Dubai.

I think also Dubai government must realise, that HIV is a problem of our times, that cannot be solved by testing everyone and deporting them if positive. Education and fighting at least some of the causes (like drug abuse) might be the better way in my opinion. Probably they will not be able to stop prostitution, and definetely they will not be able to stop HIV completely.

Good night...
BS

Who said anything about performing AIDS tests upon arrival? I said in my first post that people would have to show proof of AIDS-free status. This means they can get their AIDS test done in their home country before leaving to the UAE.

hold on a minute u guys ......never mind the tourists....don't you think that if the government are thinking of any blanket policy (debateable as to wether this is needed) then it should also include the indigenouse population too? HIV can be picked up by the indigenouse people on their visits to other countries... and they won't be seen as tourist on their return home, it doesn't necesarily have to be brought into dubai by visitors!.. there needs to be education about the virus regardless, screening tourists or sex workers who are entering the country makes it sound as if "HIV is their problem not ours" and that is a dangerouse attitude to foster

sharewadi wrote:Thanks C. I thought I'd heard something like that.

its undetectable for the first 2 weeks or so...3rd week onwards its detectable and this period onwards it is the most viral load in your body...as your body starts fighting it...but an accurate and 100% test can only be done and acertained after the 3 month window period is over...the rapid tests is 99% accurate and the elisa/western blot tests now a days can even detect the virus at the 21 day mark or 3 weeks...though as i said earlier test results with a definative 100% is only after the 3 month window period..."sero-conversion" or within the 3 weeks of infection when the body fights the virus...is when you might have ARS (accute retroviral symptoms) like flu like low grade fever/pain in glands(though these symptoms are highly untrustworthy and sometimes imagined becoz you are over thinking)...there my bit for safe fun education!!...hope that clears up stuff among people who don't know...staying in singapore /hong kong as a forienger...you have to go for mandatory checks every year...v/s only once in every 3 years here...thus the sermons have sunk in!!....no fun without protection!!...

To be honest, there should be safe sex and safe drugs campaigns - but I doubt that will happen. In the event that infected people are passing the borders of the UAE, at least people could protect themselves with clean needles and condoms.

constantine... your info will be of great use to those who know little about the virus...but can i just add that people need to be aware of the ways that hiv can be transmitted... this knowledge must also include how it is not transmitted as there are loads of misconceptions about it...i can't really think how anybody who is HIv positive and visiting the country on holiday can spread the virus unless there is risky bahaviour going on...from what i know people don't come to dubai expecting to have easy access to the sex industry or easy access to drug user scenes, both which are risky behaviours....the remaining high risk environment for transmission of hiv would be within the medical arena...and from what i understand healthcare standards are really good in dubai...no backstreet things going on.....and therefore universal precautions would be taken anyway with the cleaning, disposal and use of equipment and screening, ahndling and use of body fluids

wannabe wrote:constantine... your info will be of great use to those who know little about the virus...but can i just add that people need to be aware of the ways that hiv can be transmitted... this knowledge must also include how it is not transmitted as there are loads of misconceptions about it...i can't really think how anybody who is HIv positive and visiting the country on holiday can spread the virus unless there is risky bahaviour going on...from what i know people don't come to dubai expecting to have easy access to the fun industry or easy access to drug user scenes, both which are risky behaviours....the remaining high risk environment for transmission of hiv would be within the medical arena...and from what i understand healthcare standards are really good in dubai...no backstreet things going on.....and therefore universal precautions would be taken anyway with the cleaning, disposal and use of equipment and screening, ahndling and use of body fluids

wannabe
then why did the guy being written about in the news papers get diagonosed wrongly with a + result...sometimes even the wrong method or procedure of collection of blood can rarely result in false positives...now if the guy or any person had done his research or knew about the virus and not just how to get it...then there would not be a wild assumption and jumping to conclusions and not getting a second opinion or a third if need be...dubai aint as squeeky clean as you think it is mate...when i went to have my blood test taking...you should have seen the staff...poke poke till they find the vain and i was left with a bruise the size of a golf ball...i beg to differ...but my experiance of hospital staff in dubai is at the best a bit suspect...

ouch...constantine i am not argueing with u!...and hey getting bruising when having your blood taken is really common..and some people just don't have very good veins ......come on u can't blame the practitioner for that!...

oh... and it's always good to get a second opinion when its to do with something so seriouse.. you know i have also heard of a case where a women tested positive and then later had eliminted the virus from her body and became HIV negative ....research hasn't found out how or why this has happened yet!...oh and there is also something called human error ...such as labelling mix up, communication breakdown

wannabe wrote:ouch...constantine i am not argueing with u!...and hey getting bruising when having your blood taken is really common..and some people just don't have very good veins ......come on u can't blame the practitioner for that!...

its ok...i am not fighting either ..but you know if every year ya have ta go down for a blood test...the least thing you can expect it to be is a painless procedure...now living 7 years in other countries...never once did i have any problems with the way it was administered...but once here and its like a cattle market...huddle in sit down...jab jab...out...and that after paying more money for an express medical... ...its like i am another number in the cue...hate that!!

wannabe wrote:oh... and it's always good to get a second opinion when its to do with something so seriouse.. you know i have also heard of a case where a women tested positive and then later had eliminted the virus from her body and became HIV negative ....research hasn't found out how or why this has happened yet!

false positives = very rare....but has known to happen!

you know ..i know what its like...i work in the health profession so i have seen both sides of the coin...especially since i have just had surgery and the nurses and doctors scared the life out of me when they came at me with local anaesthetic....painful ++....now i know how the women i look after really feel when...lol

I had my medical done in Abu Dhabi and the staff were atrocious. My veins collapse really easily and they're very hard to find.

The woman didn't wear gloves, didn't swab the area, didn't washe her hands before or after - I totally freaked out!

i had edited/added human error bit to my post regarding the HIV positive then negative women

Chocoholic wrote:I had my medical done in Abu Dhabi and the staff were atrocious. My veins collapse really easily and they're very hard to find.

The woman didn't wear gloves, didn't swab the area, didn't washe her hands before or after - I totally freaked out!

man thats really bad...exactly...i mean how can ya trust people when they break it in the first instance...well choc for what its worth when you are due to go in again...tell them to stop/slow down/treat you as a human being...and also go to a private registered hospital or a doctor...

choc... thats really bad practice ...well some of it is anyway...washing hands before and after is essential ... swabbing the area is disputable...and wearing gloves for the procedure would have offered her more protection rather than it being a risk to u

oh and ...rudeness ...no excuse

Whilst I think it is a good idea in principle, its not at all practical though in reality. As people have already stated, it takes a few weeks for the virus to become detectable, so a visitor could have his or her AIDS test before they set-off for Dubai, having only contracted the disease a few days previous to going. Then they are cleared in immigration to go happily spreading the virus around (as it were).
What would be a more sensible approach is to teach people about safe s.e.x and to be a little more open about the dangers of HIV and AIDS, instead sweeping it under the carpet and pretending that there is definately no s.e.x before marriage happening in Dubai!!

sharewadi wrote:UAE is expecting 15 million tourists annually by 2010 (or is it 2015)?

AD itself is expecting 12.2 million by 2010

wannabe wrote:...oh and there is also something called human error ...such as labelling mix up, communication breakdown

Well, I can't see that happening here. Ahem ...

888 wrote:

sharewadi wrote:UAE is expecting 15 million tourists annually by 2010 (or is it 2015)?

AD itself is expecting 12.2 million by 2010

Uh oh, is it just Dubai that's up to 15 million by 2010 then?