4 Diseases That Would Automatically Cause You To Fail An Immigration Medical Exam
Immigrants and refugees entering the United States or those adjusting their immigration status to a permanent resident status are required by law to undergo an immigration medical examination. These examinations must be performed by a panel physician or civil surgeon certified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). During the examination, the patient receives a general physical exam, an evaluation for specific diseases, and a round of vaccines. Though failures are rare, there are four communicable diseases of public health significance that would automatically cause someone to fail an immigration medical exam.
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, or TB, is a communicable infectious bacterial disease that mostly affects the lungs. It is an airborne illness that is spread from an infected person to a healthy person by coughing or sneezing tiny droplets of infected secretions. Unfortunately, one aspect of the disease that makes it easily spreadable is that some with latent TB can carry the disease and spread it to others without ever showing symptoms. TB is one of the top ten causes of death in the world and occurs everywhere, but 95% of deaths occur in developing countries.
Syphilis
This sexually transmitted disease is spread through sexual contact, including oral and anal sex, by contact with syphilitic sores. It can also be spread from pregnant mother to child. It cannot be spread through casual contact or by touching something an infected person has touched such as a doorknob or a toilet seat, which is a common misconception. Though cases of syphilis saw an all-time low at the beginning of the 21st century, there has been a recent upswing. In 2017, there were 101,567 new cases of syphilis reported compared to 39,782 in 2016.
Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is the second most common bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the world. It's caused by bacteria that most often affects the urethra, rectum, throat, and the cervix (in females). It is spread through sex but can also be spread during childbirth by infected pregnant mothers to the child, damaging the child's eyes. Gonorrhea can be difficult because in many cases it has no symptoms and because it is so common. The World Health Organization estimates that 0.8% of females and 0.6% of males have the disease worldwide, about 27 million people in all.
Hansen's Disease
The fourth disease that will cause a person to automatically fail the immigration medical exam is Hansen's disease, more commonly referred to as leprosy. This is a bacterial infection that affects the nerves, skin, eyes, and lining of the nose. In 2017, there were 211,009 registered cases of Hansen's disease in 159 countries.
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