As many as 48 million of the world's workers may have died from AIDS by 2010, and the number could rise to 74 million by 2015.

The UN's International Labor Organization made the forecasts on the opening day of the 15th International AIDS Conference in Thailand, the top forum on the killer disease.

The analysis covers 50 countries from sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia.

Some 36.5 million people of a working age, defined as between 15 and 49 years, currently have the AIDS virus.

Five million of these live in Asia, or specifically in Cambodia, China, India, Myanmar and Thailand.

Experts say the loss of life caused by the AIDS epidemic will lead not only to a reduced capacity to sustain production and employment, reduce poverty and promote development, but will be a burden borne by all societies, rich and poor alike.

In countries where the impact is measurable, AIDS deaths among the workforce clipped 0.2 percent off the annual rate of growth of gross domestic product between 1992-2002.

(CRI July 12, 2004)