The number of AIDS infected patient is increasing in the country day by day. 232 people died of HIV/AIDS last one year. Before that year, so many people didn’t die. Now, concern is being raised due to lack of awareness and ignoring the treatment. Expert say if the authority doesn’t rein of this disease, a massive disaster is waiting for us.

According to the data of AIDS and STD program of DGHS, 9,708 AIDS patients have been identified in the country till now. However, this number can be roughly 14,513. Of them about 37 percent patients still out of identified and 23 percent identified patients are not getting treatment yet.

The health experts said, HIV/AIDS related risk is being increased among the ordinary people due to out of the identified and untreated patients.

Dr Zahidur Rahman, Assistant Professor Virologist of Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, told Bartabazar that there are approximately 14,000 HIV infected patients in the country. Bangladesh is a low prevalence and high risk country in term of HIV infection.

He believes that two neighboring countries India and Myanmar are largely responsible for the high risk of this deadly virus in Bangladesh. ‘Both the countries are at high risk of AIDS, he added’.

Physicians of various health clinics have informed that many of AIDS affected patients have secretly left Bangladesh and migrated to other countries. Many of them gave wrong phone numbers and addresses during the test and could not be found later. As a result, there is a risk here as well.

According to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the prevalence of AIDS among the general population in Bangladesh is less than 0.01 percent. According to that, the number of AIDS patients in the country is 14,000.

UNAIDS has set a target to meet the 95-95-95 by 2025 to combat this infectious disease. Under this target, 95 percent of people living with HIV will know their HIV status, 95 percent of those who are HIV-positive will be enrolled in treatment, and 95 percent of those on treatment will have their viral load suppressed, meaning they cannot infect others.

At present, Bangladesh has achieved 63-77-93 Against the UNAIDS target of 95-95-95 in AIDS control by 2025.

Professor Dr Nazrul Islam said, if the AIDS patients take medicine regular, can stay healthy for a long time.

The first case of HIV in Bangladesh was detected in 1989 and infected person was a foreigner. Then in 1990, two Bangladeshi citizens were identified as HIV positive.

‘If HIV or AIDS is detected, it shouldn’t hide and worry about it, said Dr Nazrul.’