Over 600 new HIV cases recorded in March

MANILA – More than 600 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were recorded in March despite efforts to control the spread of the disease, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

Health officials said the 667 new HIV cases were the highest ever recorded since the first case of HIV was reported in 1984.

The new cases recorded in March were also 34 percent higher compared to the 498 cases recorded during the same period last year.

Health officials reported that 24 of the new HIV cases have progressed into full-blown AIDS, while 18 have died.

The new cases brought to 1,849 the total number of HIV cases recorded in the first three months of the year. The figure includes 49 deaths.

Since 1984, the DOH has recorded a total of 24,376 HIV cases in the country, including 2,177 AIDS cases and 1,167 deaths.

Of the new HIV cases, 630 cases were acquired through sexual transmission, particularly from the men-having-sex-with-men (MSM) population.

Homosexual contact was responsible for 53 percent or 333 cases, followed by bisexual contact with 201 cases and heterosexual contact with 96 cases.

Three cases of mother-to-child transmission were also recorded in March, while injecting drug use accounted for 34 new cases. –Mayen Jaymalin, The Philippine Star