Majority of HIV/AIDS Cases in Bangladesh Found With Persons Working Abroad

Eighty percent of Bangladesh's total HIV/AIDS cases were detected in people who worked abroad, Nazrul Islam, professor of virology, told a roundtable discussion convened Wednesday in Dhaka. Islam said the exceptions were Bangladeshi army personnel who worked on different UN peacekeeping missions worldwide, as only two soldiers had been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Women are also becoming unknowingly infected due to their husbands' acts of unprotected sex outside the home and abroad. According to Information Minister Tariqul Islam, the prevention of AIDS has become "a national responsibility," and the government and media are ready to extend further support to AIDS awareness. Major General Motiur Rahman, chair of the Technical Committee of the National AIDS Committee, said as a poor country, Bangladesh has to opt for preventive measures rather than depend on costly drugs or future vaccines. Officially, 248 cases of HIV/AIDS have been reported in Bangladesh since 1990. The World Health Organization estimates the number at around 15,000.

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