Greece Sanctions Mandatory HIV Testing of High-Risk Groups

One day after his appointment as Greece's Health Minister on June 25, Adonis Georgiadis reinstated a controversial regulation that requires mandatory HIV testing for high-risk groups such as sex workers, undocumented immigrants, and drug users. Health Regulation Number GY/39A, "Amendments That Concern the Restriction of the Transmission of Infectious Diseases," which aims to address public health treatments and emergencies, specifies mandatory health examinations, isolation, and compulsory treatment for diseases such as influenza, TB, malaria, polio, hepatitis, HIV, and other STDs. Georgiadis stated the regulation was necessary to shield the public from emerging or re-emerging health threats, especially with Greece's "annual massive tourist influx."