People of Chittagong face high HIV/Aids infection risk, as the port city is favourable to rapid spread of the virus, speakers told a seminar yesterday.
The virus can easily transmit through foreigners and sailors and thousands of women working at the port’s adjoining EPZ, they said.
Chittagong Medical College (CMC) arranged the seminar titled ”Universal Access and Human Rights” with the slogan ”stop Aids, keep the promise” at its Salam Auditorium Hall to mark World AIDS Day yesterday.
The speakers pointed out that information gap, ignorance, and blurred concepts on the disease among mass people have caused the number of infections to rise in the country nowadays. They called upon all people for creating mass awareness about the disease.
Dr Pravat Barua, president of World Aids Day-2010 observance committee, chaired the programme also presenting the keynote paper on ”universal access and human rights”.
Prof Barua in the paper said Aids is communicable, but not a contagious disease. Globally, particularly in Asia and India, HIV cases are reducing while the infections are on the rise in Bangladesh.
He said 82 percent people in our country know what Aids is. Officially, some 1,745 cases have been reported so far. However, 40-70 lakh people addicted with drugs are at risk of infection, he added. The next 10-20 years are high time for the virus risk transmission in our country, fears Prof Barua.
CMC Principal Selim Mohhamad Jahangir was the chief guest at the programme attended by CMC Hospital Director Brig Gen Md Jahangir Hossain Mollik, Chittagong BMA President Dr Shiekh Safiul Azam, Swadhinata Chikitsak Porisad President Dr Mujibul Hoque Khan and its Secretary Dr MD Sarif.
