NEW ROADBLOCK FOR SOME INTERNATIONAL ADOPTIONS

A new rule from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has some Americans leaving China and Ethiopia without the children they adopted there.

The new CDC protocol requires that internationally adopted children over the age of 2 be tested for tuberculosis in the country of origin before the U.S. can grant a visa. If they test positive, they must be treated and determined not to be infectious before the CDC will allow them to travel to America.  

If a child test positive for tuberculosis, the child needs to get a waiver showing the child is not contagious. These tests must be performed by doctors designated by the CDC.  TB sputum cultures are difficult to process and can take several months to show results.

International adoption groups are concerned that the situation is likely to discourage Americans from adopting in countries where tuberculosis is endemic.

A good summary of the new rule and it’s effects on international adoptions can be found here:  CDC Tuberculosis Rule Slows International Adoptions