Abstract

PIP: Bangladesh's national program on AIDS prevention and control is described. AIDS, a transmittable disease, has a 100% mortality rate. Its prolonged incubation period and life-long clinical course allows patients to transmit the disease to their sexual contacts. AIDS can also be transmitted from infected mother to infant or through contaminated blood products. In 1985, Bangladesh initiated a national program on AIDS prevention with the establishment of the National AIDS Committee (NAC). Over the next 4 years, however, no AIDS cases surfaced in Bangladesh, leading some members of NAC to suspect that because of their religious nature, the Bangladeshi people might not be affected by the disease. After all, AIDS is a disease not indigenous to Bangladesh. But NAC members were concerned over the possibility of someone from the outside bringing AIDS into Bangladesh. These fears came true in 1989, when a Spanish traveler and 2 Bangladeshis who had worked abroad were found to carry HIV. While sexual promiscuity is not apparent in the Bangladeshi society, indiscriminate sex is common among the urban population. Moreover, the deplorable state of the country's health services could facilitate the spread of HIV. AIDS prevention and control will require vigorous health education and mandatory blood screening, as well as ensuring the sterility of medical instruments. These measures are included in NAC's midterm plan of action, which will soon get under way. The success of these efforts will determine whether or not Bangladesh will maintain its low AIDS-prevalence status.