DHAKA, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Thirty-nine people have died from AIDS in Bangladesh this year, official said.

    Bangladeshi Health Minister AFM Ruhul Haque said on Tuesday that 250 people contracted HIV this year, 143 of whom were diagnosed with AIDS, according to private news agency bdnews24.com.

    The minister, who gave the figures at a news conference on the eve of the World AIDS Day, said in last 20 years, 1,745 people were infected with the deadly virus, 619 of them had AIDS and 204 died.

    As much as 14 percent of the total HIV-infected people contracted AIDS in 2009 in Bangladesh, which had its first HIV-infected person in 1989.

    Those who inject drugs are infected at a rate of more than five percent. At some places in capital Dhaka, the number of HIV-infected person has increased, according to the health minister.

    Modasser Ali, health and family welfare advisor to the prime minister, said, "We all should work together to prevent AIDS. Moreover, we also should work to stop other preventable diseases."

    Although Bangladesh is still considered as a low HIV/AIDS prevalent country, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that there are 13,000 HIV-positive people in the country. And outside of the government, more than 380 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and AIDS service organizations work in Bangladesh.    

Special Report: World AIDS Day 2009