2,087 Filipinos infected by HIV

THE NUMBER of Filipinos who are under medication for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have risen by 39% compared to the same time last year, data from the Health department show.

A total of 2,087 Filipinos living with HIV are now on anti-retroviral therapy (ART), the Department of Health’s National Epidemiology Center said in a report provided to lawmakers at the House of Representative.

The number does not include those who have already died, left the country, or decided to stop taking ART, citing government data, Rep. Arnel U. Ty of the sectoral party LPG Marketers’ Association (LPG-MA) said in a statement.

At least 212 new HIV cases were recorded in January, up 39% from the 152 detected in the same month of 2011.

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, ART can slow the advance of the disease.

HIV has already claimed the lives of at least 342 people in the Philippines, including a seven-year-old boy who expired in January.

Filipinos living with HIV can seek ART in any of the 16 hospitals identified as HIV “treatment hubs.”

These are the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center, Cagayan Valley Medical Center, Jose B. Lingad Medical Center, San Lazaro Hospital, Philippine General Hospital, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Makati Medical Center, The Medical City, Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital, Western Visayas Medical Center, Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital, Zamboanga City Medical Center, and Southern Philippines Medical Center. –Businessworld