Bangladesh has missed about 50 per cent of tests for HIV in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year the country tested over 0.5 million people instead of 1.0 million and screened 0.83 million people. HIV test is more intense than screening. It is necessary to test a person at least three times to detect HIV.
The target to test people at Gulf Approved Medical Centres Association (GAMCA) also has come down to 0.31 million this year from 0.7 million in 2019, which is a major concern as the prevalence among migrants is nearly 20 per cent.
In Dhaka, the rate is as high as 35 per cent among the returnee migrants.
There are 68 GAMCA-approved clinics in three districts--Dhaka, Chattogram and Sylhet.
The total number of HIV positive cases in 2020 was 658 of whom 141 died. A total of 8,032 HIV reported positive cases are in Bangladesh since 1989 and of them, 1,383 died.
The new data on HIV/AIDS situation in Bangladesh were disclosed on Tuesday during a seminar on the occasion of World HIV/AIDS Day 2020.
Line director TB-L &AIDS/STD Professor Dr Shamiul Islam presented the keynote paper at the seminar organised at Shilpakala Academy in the city.
Health services division secretary MA Mannan and director general of DGHS Professor Dr ABM Khurshid Alam were present on the occasion.
In his presentation, Dr Shamiul showed that in 2020, a total of 60,428 key population (female and male sex workers, transgender and people who use injecting drugs), TB-HIV other comorbidity population 16.087, general population 32,800, GAMCA 0.31 million, prevention of mother to child transfer 81,299 were tested and 0.83 million were screened under safe blood transfusion programme.
Of the total new cases detected in 2020, 33 per cent were general population, 20 per cent injecting drug users, 19 per cent Rohingya, 15 per cent migrants, 5.0 percent male sex workers and male-to-male sex each, 2.0 per cent transgender and 1.0 per cent female sex workers.
ABM Khurshid Alam said Bangladesh could not conduct all the HIV tests due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, accurate information could not be known.
The government has been carrying out HIV test in hospitals at a very low cost.
The DG warned that there is a risk of HIV infection unknowingly from hospitals during surgical interventions and blood transfusion.
That's why it is necessary to test HIV in hospitals while receiving treatment, he added.
MA Mannan said Bangladesh will get corona vaccine by February and media people will get priority as front-liners in getting vaccine.
