HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh: an assessment of biomedical risk factors for transmission.
Behavioural risk factors for HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh were reviewed in a preceding article in this journal. Omitted from that review was a discussion of potential biomedical risk factors including: (i) an unregulated blood supply system in which blood used in transfusions is not screened for HIV and is donated primarily by professional donors: (ii) unsterile injections in non-formal and formal health-care settings; and (iii) a high prevalence in high-risk groups of other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) which may function as co-factors for HIV transmission, particularly if chronically untreated. Studies elsewhere in the world suggest that the unregulated blood supply system, in particular, poses a serious danger in terms of the spread of the HIV epidemic. While certain socio-cultural factors may be contributing to low levels of HIV in Bangladesh, the prevalence of biomedical and behavioural risk factors suggest the importance of implementing targeted cost-effective interventions now.
Gibney
L
L
Schools of Public Health and Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 35294-0022, USA. lgibney@uab.edu
Choudhury
P
P
Khawaja
Z
Z
Sarker
M
M
Islam
N
N
Vermund
S H
SH
D001459:Bangladesh / Q000453:epidemiology; D001771:Blood Banks / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000635:transmission*; D015528:HIV Seroprevalence; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D065227:Transfusion Reaction