From the US State Department to parents of kids adopted from Kazakhstan, this Public Notice:

The Government of Kazakhstan recently reported that as many as 61 children in the Shymkent region (southern Kazakhstan ) tested positive for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Kazakhstani government officials stated that the children were infected by contaminated blood transfusions and reusing medical equipment, such as needles for vaccinations or catheters. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is aware of the situation and is working with the Government of Kazakhstan to investigate the scope of this unfortunate development.

Those Americans who recently adopted a child from the affected region of Kazakhstan should take note of this development. They may wish to consult their child’s physician about the advisability of testing for HIV. While a medical examination was conducted by the panel physician in Kazakhstan as part of the immigrant visa process, it was not designed to provide a complete assessment of an adoptive child’s health and did not include HIV testing for children under age 15.

Those Americans who are considering pursuing an adoption in Kazakhstan will see a change in this regard. The CDC has instructed the panel physicians to institute mandatory HIV testing for all Kazakhstani children adopted by Americans as of September 15, 2006.

From the State Department site with adoption info, for those interested in the broader picture:

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTIVE PARENTS: Officially, Kazakhstan allows both single and married people to adopt, and there are no age requirements other than that an unmarried prospective adoptive parent must be at least 16 years older than the child s/he intends to adopt. In practice, however, some unmarried prospective adoptive parents have found it difficult to adopt, as have prospective parents over age 60.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS: Prospective adoptive parents must reside with the child for a minimum of 14 days at the child’s habitual place of residence in Kazakhstan prior to the adoption (“the Bonding Period”). This pre-adoption bonding period cannot be waived. Kazakhstani law also provides for a 15-day waiting period (“the Appeal Period”) after the court hearing, before the adoption becomes final. A judge can waive this period at his or her discretion but this is a rare occurrence ...

Continuing on this news from Kaz in the next post ...