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Dhaka     Thursday   28 March 2024

HIV awareness & treatment facilities increasing in Bangladesh

SK Reza Parvez || risingbd.com

Published: 21:00, 17 March 2023  
HIV awareness & treatment facilities increasing in Bangladesh

Bangladesh National AIDS/STD Control Programme claimed that the rate of bringing AIDS patients under the treatment coverage is increasing every year.

The awareness rate in 2019 was 52 percent which raised to 63 percent in 2021. Some 65 percent of AIDS infected people was under the treatment two year ago which currently increased to 77 percent.

The statistics of the Health Department of the Government of Bangladesh have been released, which shows that in 2021, another 919 people were infected with the virus. As a result, the total estimated number of victims stood at about 34 thousand.

The first person infected with HIV was diagnosed in Bangladesh in 1989. Since then, the number of infected has been steadily increasing. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a microorganism, the infection of which causes people to suffer from a deadly disease called 'Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome' or 'AIDS'. The disease completely destroys the human body's natural ability to resist infection and the affected person dies. Although treatments for this disease have been discovered, the death rate is still high. The problem is that the symptoms do not appear immediately after the virus enters the body of a person. As a result, the infected person does not know that his body is carrying a deadly virus. As a result, this virus can be transmitted from his body to the body of others without the knowledge of both. Many people are in the same situation as the man and his wife who returned to Kuwait.

According to the sources of the Department of Health, about 50 percent of the total infected people do not know that they have been infected. And of the 50 percent of infected people who learn at some point that they have the virus, one-third do not seek treatment. That is, they can go on living without treatment, at least for a while. This is also a big problem; Because at the stage when they feel that there is no going on without treatment, their health suffers a lot. Another problem is that the government authorities do not have any information about the physical condition of those affected who seek treatment.

Data on the progressive increase in the death rate among infected persons suggests that there is a deficiency in the treatment system for HIV/AIDS patients. 125 people died in 2017, 148 people died the following year, 170 people died in 11 months of 2021. Authorities say some of the dead were infected with HIV, which went undiagnosed and untreated. Therefore, it is important to focus on identifying infected people and bringing them under timely treatment. And as part of strengthening safeguards to prevent transmission, efforts should be made to raise awareness among members of vulnerable populations. This is important, because beyond migrant workers, sex workers, homosexuals, etc., HIV is now spreading among the general population.

History of AIDS in Bangladesh

The first case of HIV in Bangladesh was detected in 1989. Since then, 10, 20, 100 or 200 new cases have been identified every year. In 2018, the number of new cases stood at 869. Bangladesh registered the first death of HIV-infected patient in 2000.

According to statistics till November 30, 2021, Bangladesh tested a total of 6,28,312 people for HIV last year. In addition, 6,62,757 people went through blood screening. Bangladesh detected 729 more HIV infected people in 2021. Among them, 188 are Rohingya refugees came from Myanmar. With them, the number of potential patients infected with HIV in the country is 14,000.

During the same period, among the new cases, general population was 186 (26%), Rohingya 188 (26%), expatriates and members of their families 144 (20%), injecting drug users 81 (8%), female sex workers 17 ( 2%), homosexuals 67 (9%),  male sex workers 53 (7%) and transgenders 13 (2%).

DGHS Line Director Dr Md Khurshid Alam, also the project director and line director of Tuberculosis-Leprosy and AIDS STD Programme (TB-L & ASP), said, “The rate of HIV infection in the country is very low, only 0.1 percent. Although the rate of infection is low, there is a risk of HIV surge due to overcrowding, internal and international migration and lack of awareness. Alongside, the risk is increasing for Bangladesh as the rate of HIV infection is much higher in neighbouring countries like India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Treatment and services for AIDS in Bangladesh

According to the Bangladesh Country Coordinating Mechanism (BCCM), the scope of treatment and services for AIDS in the country is enough than the need. But due to lack of awareness at the grassroots level, it has not been possible to implement many of the government’s plans. However, AIDS treatment has not yet been introduced at the private level.

AIDS treatment is provided in Bangladesh by the government. There is no opportunity to take this service at private level yet. There are 27 AIDS detection centers across the country while medical services are provided at 11 centers.

There is no need to get admitted in a hospital for AIDS treatment. Most of the patients seek treatment at home. However, they have to take regular medication from the designated center and keep in touch with the doctor. Adults are given oral medication while children are given syrup. However, if someone has any other physical complication along with AIDS, he has to get admitted to a hospital for treatment.

Home coming expatriates increase concerns

Since 2019, many who went abroad legally and illegally, have returned home due to coronavirus pandemic. The matter of concern is that the number of migrants is high among the newly identified AIDS patients. Even the rate of infection is high among their family members. At this time, the government was more focused on ensuring coronavirus and home quarantine. So it is feared that some people will be left out of the test for AIDS. In addition, it has been observed over the years that some of the migrant workers are returning home after contracting HIV.

According to statistics, 30 percent of new HIV patients surveyed are migrant workers or members of their families.

Lack of awareness

According to experts, the awareness about AIDS is not at the desired level yet in the country. Though, it is slowly growing, it needs to increase.

According to officials National AIDS/STD Programme of DGHS, nearly 50 percent of those infected with HIV are not aware of the infection. Those who know that they are infected, more than one-third of them, do not take treatment. People who get infected with HIV need to take regular medication (antiretroviral), blood tests. The government does not have information on the physical condition of the people receiving treatment. However, at the end of 2019, the government started the work of reserving information in this regard.

According to sources, the rate of HIV/AIDS infection among the general population is below 0.01 percent and this has been possible due to various effective measures taken by the government.

Experts say the incumbent Awami League government is conducting massive campaigns to raise awareness among general people. Now people are much more aware than ever before. Earlier sex workers were unconscious over the disease. Now they are much more aware. In addition, home returning expatriates are also now much more aware of HIV. The risk of AIDS can be further reduced if awareness activities are strengthened.

Dr Zahidul Kabir, chief of Virology Department of Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in Dhaka, told risingbd that Bangladesh has less HIV infected patients than neighbouring countries. Still, it is important for us to be careful over the matter. Otherwise, there is a risk of increasing AIDS patients in our country.

“It simply came to our notice then. Basically, Bangladesh is a high-risk country for HIV. Although the number of victims is relatively low now, it is likely to increase at any time.

“Our country can be stated now as low prevalence. Basically, Bangladesh is a high-risk country for HIV. Although the number of victims is relatively low now, it is likely to increase any time,” he added.

When asked about importance of HIV testing in border areas, Dr Zahidul Kabir said, “I think this initiative has now become a mandatory issue. Because we have borders with India and Myanmar. Both countries have high rates of HIV and we are at high risk. More people come from these countries by land through border than by air. That is why it is important to ensure HIV scanning in all our ports. With the importance of AIDS, measures should be taken to install scanning machines in these places as soon as possible.”

He further told risingbd that the coronavirus infection rate now is on the rise again. In the meantime, the government has imposed 11-point restrictions. Coronavirus scanning machines have been installed at various places to detect the deadly virus. The government has also set up hundreds of RT PCR labs. These labs can also be used for HIV diagnosis. It is possible to get tested for HIV by adding a few tools to these labs.

When asked how is rehabilitation or assistance in Bangladesh after recovering from AIDS, Dr Zahidul Kabir said, “There are efforts in Bangladesh for this. But it is being done in a limited way as there are less patients. Those are infected with HIV in our country are mostly from the lower class. As a result, they do not receive the necessary attention in policy-making. However, the UN provides assistance or rehabilitation for AIDS patients through some NGOs. But I do not know exactly how much it is.”

Saima Khan, UNAIDS Country Manager in Bangladesh, said, “UNAIDS is focusing on AIDS prevention. Our strategy for the next five years is: You are equal to you. Undetectable is equal to untransmissible. In other words, if I could take the medicine and reduce the virus to a level when it could no longer spread. If my HIV is not spreading, then I can live longer.”

She said, “There are a lot of modern medicines with much less side effects, but a lot of effectiveness. The medicines can reduce the virus in a person’s body significantly, but cannot eradicate it completely. The treatment is so good that if you take regular medication, you will have to continue it for life and reduce the viral load. As a result, it will not have any effect on his own body, nor will it spread to bodies of others. So, even if someone is infected, he/she will be able to lead a normal life.”

Parvez/Nasim