Tanzania: Rejected HIV Test Kits Doubted Since 2007

Tanzania Daily NewsREPORTS have emerged that a deal to import and supply HIV Test kits manufactured by South Korean firms that were later found to be defective was questionable since 2007.
Earlier this month, the Minister for Health and Social welfare, Dr Hadji Mponda, announced the withdrawal of a South Korean HIV test kit from circulation following warnings about its poor quality.In November, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) removed the Standard Diagnostics Bioline® HIV 1/2 3.0 Rapid HIV Test Kit from its list of approved rapid test kits with immediate effect; the alert was issued after Bioline failed quality assurance tests.
"What we know so far is that 1,178 test kits have been used in the field, but we have yet to substantiate exactly how many of them were defective," Dr Mponda, was quoted as saying at a news conference on January 5.

South Korea: Should Foreign Teachers Be Tested for HIV?

This year, tensions over mandatory HIV/AIDS tests for foreign teachers have re-surfaced, sparking a heated national debate. In 2007, a series of sensational press reports fueled rumors that foreign English teachers were molesting students and spreading HIV/AIDS. Though the reports were never substantiated, the government began to require that all foreign teachers get tested for HIV, including those who were already in the country. Those who tested positive could have their contracts canceled and faced deportation.
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