DHAKA, Dec 1: A total of 20 people have died of AIDS in Bangladesh so far, government officials said on the occasion of the World AIDS Day on Sunday.

The Dhaka-based National AIDS Committee (NAC) revealed that a total of 248 people had contracted HIV so far in Bangladesh. Of those who have contracted the virus, 26 have developed full-blown AIDS and 20 of them have died, the NAC said.

The UNAIDS has estimated that about 13,000 people were HIV positive in Bangladesh at the end of 1999, but said that cases were likely to be under-reported because of limited voluntary testing and the stigma and fear of being identified as HIV positive.

Health Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said that 55,000 health workers were working across Bangladesh to prevent the spread of the disease.

“Although Bangladesh had a low prevalence rate of the disease due to people’s religious beliefs, moral practices and social values, there is no room for complacency,” the minister observed.