elizabethsmum

So I'm just curious I was speak to a friend and talking about the medical I just had and I was explaining the tests, it made me wonder why does Gonorrhea and Chlamydia get tested for and not any other STDs? And TB as well? Why are just these things picked?

FTR I am not worried about having anything LOL just a random question.

Thanks

Kelly

scrubbedexpat097

They are the two main STD's that can become expensive to treat if not detected early, and are very easily spread.

As for TB, if you actively had it then it would show on the chest xray you had. You probably had a titer test when you were younger right?

elizabethsmum

Ah OK, I was just wondering why those but makes sense.

Is that the BCG vaccination?I had that at school?They did the test on my wrist and then a few days later had the vaccine.

scrubbedexpat097

That's the one

Pulaski

If cost and transmission are the criteria it makes you wonder why they don't test for AIDS - which is incurable, the cost of treatment is off the chart, and is fatal to many people who contract it even with treatment.

aless02

Too difficult/expensive to test for...

Asg123

They definitely did, they must have stopped.

mikelincs

In most western countries the HIV test can only be done with the express permission of the person, this is usually because many insurance documents, and others, do ask if you have ever been TESTED for HIV, they are not interested in the result, according to their protocols the fact that you have been tested means that you have a risky sex life, this started when it was believed that HIV/AIDS was only to be found in gay men. Current knowledge has hit that on the head, but many places still have it as part of their criteria.

scrubbedexpat097

I thought they did an HIV test? I'm almost certain they did on us back in the late 80's

Rete

It was a prerequisite to be tested for HIV when I converted my life insurance policy a few years back.

scrubbedexpat099

TB is something they look for especially in areas it is prevalent.

Twinkle0927

They don't test for AIDS anymore but that's a good point as to why not, given the risk it poses to public health (insofar as how easily it is spread and the cost of treating it). I also wonder why they test eyesight at the medical too.

elizabethsmum

I was tested for HIV when I was pregnant as a standard procedure. I just find it strange that they don't test for HIV.

ian-mstm

To my knowledge, they've never tested for HIV for US immigration purposes. There was a time not long ago, however, when you had to disclose if you were HIV+. If you were, you were effectively barred from getting an immigrant visa to the US because of the suspected risk to others - and risk to others has always been a disqualifying issue. The requirement to disclose was eventually dropped - not because of the risk, but because the courts found it to be overwhelmingly discriminating against a protected segment of the population.

Ian

ian-mstm

With respect, it's not actually that easy to spread. There was a time when people thought that shaking hands with or kissing an HIV+ person would transmit the disease... but public education got better and now most people are smarter than that. As for the cost of treatment, it's not actually a public health issue.


Since it's not a US immigration requirement, it's most likely done because it can be!

Ian