PARIS, Dec 1 (AFP) - AIDS and human rights are so closely linked that any attempt to stop the spread of the killer virus must also fight against poverty and exclusion, the French chapter of Amnesty International said Sunday to mark World AIDS Day.

"Human rights standards are not an option but an essential part of the fight against AIDS. Social exclusion, poverty and discrimination are intrinsically tied to HIV/AIDS," the group said in a statement.

"People at risk of contamination by the AIDS virus exist on the fringes of society and lack the most basic rights -- the right to live free of discrimination, the right to an education, the right to physical integrity, the right to medical care and economic security," it said.

The rights group called on governments to improve public health services and make efforts to "overcome prejudice, disinformation and discrimination that dominate in the public view".

Despite active measures to stem the spread of the worldwide epidemic, including the UN-backed World AIDS Day entering its 15th year, too many live ignorant of prevention methods and deprived of treatment, Amnesty said.

According to the latest figures, released earlier this week by UN's specialist agency UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO), five million people this year will have become infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and some 3.1 million will have died from AIDS.

An estimated 42 million people worldwide suffer from AIDS or are HIV-infected.

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