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Revision of 42 CFR Part 34 (Medical Examination of Aliens) Updated Screening for Communicable Disease of Public Health Significance – Interim Final Rule (IFR)
The Department of Health and Human Services has regulatory authority to promulgate regulations that establish requirements for the medical examination of aliens (immigrants, refugees, asylees, and parolees) before they may be admitted into the United States.
HHS/CDC/Division of Global Migration and Quarantine administers the regulations which include the health-related conditions that make aliens ineligible for entry into the United States.
On October 6, 2008, HHS/CDC posted an Interim Final Rule (IFR) regarding these regulations.
- Interim Final Rule
- Addendum to the Technical Instructions for Medical Examination of Aliens
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Fact Sheet
PDF 1 page / 106 KB - View Public comments
Key revisions include:
1. The definition of a “communicable disease of public health significance” remains as those diseases previously listed in the former regulation plus the addition of
- Any quarantinable, communicable disease specified by current or future Presidential Executive Orders - current diseases:
- pandemic flu
- SARS
- viral hemorrhagic fevers
- cholera
- diphtheria
- infectious tuberculosis
- plague
- smallpox
- yellow fever
- Any communicable disease that is a public health emergency of international concern reported to the World Health Organization (under revised International Health Regulations of 2005), such as smallpox, poliomyelitis due to wild-type poliovirus, cholera, or viral hemorrhagic fevers (Ebola).
2. Addition of a risk-based approach for medical screening and testing based on medical and epidemiologic factors to determine where and for how long additional screening and testing should be conducted.
3. Updated screening and testing for tuberculosis using current medical knowledge and practice to screen for tuberculosis.