21 OFWs infected with HIV

There are 21 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were among the 200 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnosed on October, up by 92 percent against 104 recorded in the same month of 2010.

According to former labor leader and now partylist Rep. Arnel Ty, four of new cases were acquired through sexual contact while 17 from illegal drug who were all infected after sharing contaminated needles.

Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has already issued policy guidelines on the occupational safety and health of workers in the country following the rise of HIV cases.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the Department has forged a collaborative partnership with the Department of Health (DoH) to oversee and manage the implementation of health programs in the workplace.

The 200 new infections (194 males, six females) raised to 1,869 the cumulative number of HIV cases passively discovered from January to October this year, up by 43 percent compared to the 1,305 spotted over the same 10-month period in 2010, Ty said.

Citing National Epidemiology Center data, Ty said the new cases had a median age of 27 years. Those in the 20 to 29 age group comprised 60 percent of the cases.

Except for the 17 drug users, all of the new cases were infected as a result of unprotected sexual contact, with males having sex with other males accounting to 85 percent.

HIV causes AIDS, or the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. The disease that destroys the human body’s immune system does not have any known cure. However, anti-retroviral treatments can slow the advance of the disease.

The Philippines will likely has a new and stronger AIDS Prevention and Control Law by next year.

“We have very high hopes Congress will act favorably and with all deliberate speed on proposed new legislation that will boost the war on HIV/AIDS,” he said.

He was referring to House Bill 5312, which seeks to allot P400 million to jumpstart a new National HIV and AIDS Plan that has definite strategies, operating guidelines, and targets.  –Mina Diaz, Daily Tribune