US lifts HIV ban

The United States yesterday lifted a 22-year ban on HIV-positive foreigners travelling to its shores, a restriction described by President Barack Obama as "rooted in fear rather than fact".

It has been clear for many years that the Aids virus is not spread easily by casual contact - the original rationale for the travel ban, introduced in 1987.

The lifting of the ban now means that even asylum-seekers and people applying to become residents in the US no longer have to take a mandatory HIV test.