Emran Emon

AIDS is a deadly disease, which stands for Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome, for which no cure has yet been developed. The deadly AIDS is one of the few diseases in the world that currently threatens human civilization. The disease has now spread across the world and has become a outrageous threat. When the virus of this disease enters the body, it attacks the body's immune cells. As a result, the natural immunity of the human body is destroyed. Any infectious germ can then easily attack a person with HIV. AIDS is a condition in which the immune system is destroyed due to infection with the HIV virus. In this situation, as the body does not have effective cells to resist the virus, various diseases spread severely with various symptoms.

Like other countries in the world, World AIDS Day is celebrated on December 1 every year in Bangladesh. Since 1988, this day has been celebrated in every country. The objective to observe this day is to know about the disease and take effective measures to prevent it. About 40 million people in the world are carrying the AIDS virus and living with it, but about 10 million of them have no idea that they have this deadly virus in their body. This year's World AIDS Day theme is—“Take the rights path: My health, my right!”

AIDS is caused by the HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) virus. This virus is a type of microorganism that is smaller than bacteria and cannot be seen with an ordinary microscope. Medical scientists around the world have been tirelessly trying to find a cure or treatment for this disease. Agonizing premature death is the ultimate outcome for those affected by this deadly disease. In the era of technological excellence, the people of the world are worried and scared about this disease. Whether someone has HIV in their body is not known from the outside. Only a blood test can confirm the infection of this virus. There is no specific time frame for the number of years after being infected with the HIV virus. This disease can appear within a few months or 10 to15 years. However, various studies have shown that 75 percent of people with HIV develop AIDS within 10 years.

This deadly disease was first identified in 1980. In 1981, some patients in the United States were diagnosed with pneumonia caused by a bacterium called Pneumocystis carinae, now known as Pneumocystis jirovecii. Later in Africa there was an outbreak of a tumor called Kaposi's sarcoma. The disease is diagnosed from this tumor. Scientists claim to identify the origin of the deadly disease AIDS. In the 1920s in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa (then Leopoldville), AIDS was created as a result of uncontrolled sex, according to a new study. Unbridled population growth in Kinshasa as well as uncontrolled sex are the main causes of AIDS.

AIDS actually has no specific symptoms. AIDS symptoms vary by country and place. Some of the common symptoms of AIDS are prolonged or recurrent fever but no specific cause can be found, extreme fatigue, rapid loss of body weight, swollen lymph nodes, dry cough, shortness of breath, swelling of bone joints, frequent infections like tuberculosis, pneumonia, urinary tract infection. Apart from this, chronic diarrhoea problem which does not get better with normal treatment, loss of visual acuity, severe headache etc. However, if these symptoms appear in someone, it cannot be confirmed that he or she has AIDS, but people at risk should remember that if these symptoms appear, they should seek medical help without delay.

Ignorance, lack of right perspective, not practicing healthy life is the main risk of this disease. The specific ways in which HIV can be spread are: blood or blood products of a patient with HIV or AIDS are transfused into the body of another person; If a toothbrush, needle, syringe, knife, medical equipment used by an infected person is used by another person without thorough sterilization; transplantation of an affected person's organ into another person's body; through a mother infected with HIV (during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding); immoral and unsafe sex or having sex without a condom; through unprotected sex with homosexuals, polygamists and commercial and floating sex workers; addiction and repeated use of drugs by the same syringe among youth; close geographic proximity to HIV-infected countries, long border areas and thus cross-country migration have the potential to spread HIV in the above ways; labor migration and human trafficking increase the risk of AIDS-affected people entering countries. Above all, there is a risk of spreading the disease due to lack of awareness and information about HIV virus.

Once infected, it is very difficult to get rid of it. Therefore, knowing the ways of HIV transmission is most important to prevent it. The measures that can be taken to prevent AIDS are: testing donor's blood for HIV before donating blood, organ transplants must also be tested for HIV, use a new needle or syringe each time for injection and do not use a needle or syringe used by someone else, abstaining from unsafe sexual behavior, using condoms during sexual intercourse; seeking medical advice in adopting or breastfeeding a child of a mother with HIV or AIDS, people should be aware and motivated to prevent AIDS through regular dissemination of preventive information in various media to increase public awareness.

Currently, the disease has spread beyond Europe, America, Africa and Asia. Our neighboring country India has already registered as the world's first country with the largest number of AIDS patients. The first person with AIDS was diagnosed in Bangladesh in 1989. The first person identified is still alive and well.

According to the data of the United Nations HIV-AIDS agency UNAIDS, the number of AIDS patients in Bangladesh so far is 0.1 percent of the total population. According to UNAIDS data, the number of AIDS patients in Bangladesh is more than 14 thousand. However, only eight thousand patients are under treatment in the country. 205 people have died in Bangladesh this year due to this infection. And so far the total death has been 1 thousand 588 people. However, due to neighboring countries, Bangladesh is at a serious risk of AIDS.

According to the National AIDS/STD Control (NASP) program of the Department of Health, out of 729 new HIV infections in the country last year, 420 were men, 210 were women and 12 were from the third gender population. In the last one year, 186 (26%) of the general population, 188 (26%) Rohingyas, 144 (20%) expatriates and their family members, 61 (8%) intravenous drug users, 17 (2%) female sex workers, 67 (9%) homosexuals, 53 (7%) male sex workers and 13 (2%) transgenders—are affected by AIDS.

The government has committed to the United Nations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) HIV/AIDS target of eliminating AIDS from the country by 2030. If we all work unitedly along with the government, we will be able to eliminate AIDS within the stipulated time.

To save ourselves from the deadly disease AIDS, we need to create awareness among populace, especially the younger generation. The number of AIDS patients in our country is increasing by leaps and bounds only due to lack of awareness. Since there is still no cure for AIDS, prevention is the only way to prevent AIDS. And for this, mass awareness must be needed. Along with the government, private organizations should also come forward to eliminate AIDS. Public awareness can play a pivotal role to prevent AIDS. Therefore, united efforts and effective measures must be needed to prevent AIDS.

The writer is a researcher, journalist and columnist