Record 266 die from AIDS in the country this year

DE Online Desk
The country recorded 266 deaths and 1,276 infections from AIDS this year, the highest on record after the first patient was detected in 1989.
The information was presented during a programme held at the auditorium of the National Cancer Research Institute and Hospital on Wednesday, commemorating AIDS Day.
Speaking at the programme, Dr Mahfuzur Rahman, line director of National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and AIDS Control Programme said the country recorded 2,086 deaths and 10,984 infections so far. The number of people carrying HIV virus in Bangladesh is more than 15,000, he added.
At least 232 died of AIDS and 947 new cases were detected in 2022.
During the event, it was disclosed that among this year’s AIDS patients, 1,118 are Bangladeshis, while the remaining cases are from Rohingyas residing in different camps in Cox’s Bazar.
Dhaka accounts for the highest number of infected people, totaling 342 patients.
Additionally, 246 AIDS cases were identified in Chattogram, 175 in Rajshahi, 141 in Khulna, 79 in Barishal, 61 in Sylhet, 40 in Mymensingh, and 34 in Rangpur district. Of those identified, 850 are male, 278 are female, and 9 are transgender people. At the event, Professor ABM Khusrshid Alam, director general of the Directorate General of Health Services, emphasised that AIDS patients should not face exclusion.