Knowledge about HIV/AIDS among women in Bangladesh: an urban-rural comparison of trend, attitude and determinants

The infection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is responsible for an incurable infectious disease named “Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)”, one of the biggest global health challenges in recent years. After identifying the first case of this chronic life-threatening ailment in the USA in 1981, the HIV/AIDS infection has permeated quickly to many countries.1 According to World Health Organization, 36.9 million people were living with HIV in 2017, especially, women are in greater risk constituting 51% of all adults living with HIV, increasing at a rate of 7000 young women become infected per week.2,3 Besides, South-East Asian countries contain 2nd highest amount of HIV infections, 3.5 million people, right after the Africa.3 The first case of HIV/AIDS was reported in Bangladesh in 1989. In 2011, the number of HIV-positive people was 2,533 but the amount has dramatically increased in last six years and stand at around 13000 infected people with around 1700 new cases in 2017.3,4 and 34% of which are females aged 15 and over.2 HIV/AIDS can transmit person to person through sexual contact with an infected person and through infected blood transmition.5