Tuberculosis Screening in the Internationally Adopted Child Tuberculosis is an infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which differs in many ways from the bacteria that cause other childhood infections. Because of these differences, the usual antibiotics prescribed for simple childhood infections are not effective. Children are exposed to tuberculosis when they inhale the contagious […]

Positive Test for Hepatitis C on the Adoption Medical Abstract Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus. The virus causes liver inflammation, which interferes with proper liver function. It can eventually lead to severe, permanent liver damage and cirrhosis and may be complicated by liver cancer. Because the […]

Worries about HIV infection in the orphan child This question is not so simple as it would appear. First we never say whether someone should or should not adopt someone, because children can be adopted with HIV infection to avail the child of the myriad opportunities for treatment that are available in the United States. […]

Salmonella infection in the Internationally adopted child Salmonella There are two main types of salmonella there is the “normal salmonella that we think of in this country which is acquired through undercooked foods. There is also something called salmonella typhi or typhoid fever. They are both salmonella infections. Normally however when we say salmonella infection […]

Internationally adopted child who is a carrier of Hepatitis C antibodies. How important or significant is this information? Your question is not as easy a question to answer as it may appear. Hepatitis C is a virus which before we used to screen blood for it, was predominantly spread through blood transfusion. Someone who has […]

“My referral’s medical info states that the child tested positive for syphilis at birth? What further questions should I ask – can I still consider this referral?” A diagnosis of congenital syphilis is very difficult to establish because clinical signs of infection may not be apparent and many times the blood test are unreliable. Syphilis […]

Positive PPD in the Internationally Adopted Child Positive PPD The purpose of the tuberculin (PPD) skin test is to identify people who have the tuberculosis germ in their bodies. Many times these people feel perfectly fine without any symptoms. This germ is generally dormant requiring many years and a weakened immune system before causing real […]