HIV and travel: the world may not be your oyster when you roam openly as HIV-positive.(Investigation)

Publication: The Advocate (The national gay & lesbian newsmagazine)

Publication Date: 26-OCT-04

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COPYRIGHT 2004 Liberation Publications, Inc.

Travis Sherer isn't willing to risk being possibly denied entry to Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Togo, or Burkina Faso because of being HIV positive when he begins a four-month visit later this year. The New York City resident plans to ship his antiretroviral medications to either the U.S. embassy or his hotel in his first destination country to avoid revealing he is HIV-positive at customs and possibly being turned away because of it. "I'm quite nervous about it," he says.

Sherer's longer-than-average stay in Africa makes his situation unique, AIDS experts say. Generally, few countries prevent HIV-positive adults from short-term visits. "I've never experienced a problem because I am HIV-positive," notes William W. Rydwels of Chicago, who has visited 13 nations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America while infected. "I am very open about it, since if I'm going to have a problem, I want it up front, not while I'm enjoying my travel experience."

Even nations with the strictest HIV entry...

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