DOH: 273 new HIV cases in May

MANILA, Philippines – The number of HIV/AIDS cases in the country rose to 9,669 after 273 new cases were recorded in May, the Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry of the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

Sexual contact accounted for 268 percent of the cases and 87 percent of them are “males having sex with other males.”

Four of the cases involved injecting drug users who shared infected needles, while one was through “mother-to-child transmission.”

The DOH said the cases in May were 48 percent higher than the 184 cases recorded in May 2011.

“Of the 273 HIV positive cases, 12 were reported as AIDS cases – nine males and three females. The median age is 41 years old… Of the AIDS cases, there were two reported deaths for this month, both males aged 27 and 42,” the agency said.

Twenty-five of the 273 cases were overseas Filipino workers who got infected through sexual contact — seven heterosexual, 12 homosexual, and six bisexual.

Metro Manila accounted for 51 percent of the cases; followed by Calabarzon, 15 percent; Davao and Central Luzon, eight percent each; Central Visayas, four percent; Western Visayas, three percent; and Northern Mindanao, two percent.

The new cases also brought to 1,201 the number of individuals who contracted the AIDS virus in May alone.

The registry showed that of the 9,669 cases recorded from 1984 to May 2012, a total of 1,042 have progressed into AIDS; 62 of them involving children below 15 years old. The death toll has reached 352.

“There is a significant difference in the number of male and female cases reported. Eighty-four percent (8,133) were males. Ages ranged from one to 81 (median: 29),” the DOH added.

The registry also showed that age group with the most number of cases were 20-24 (21 percent), 25-29 (28 percent), and 30-34 (19 percent).” –Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star)