233 new HIV/AIDS cases recorded in April – DOH

MANILA, Philippines – Records of the Department of Health (DOH) showed that a total of 233 new cases of HIV/AIDS were recorded in April, surpassing the 1,000-mark for this year alone.

The DOH said there are now 1,032 HIV/AIDS cases in the country.

Based on the DOH’s Philippines HIV and AIDS Registry, eight of the 233 cases were full-blown AIDS while there was one death caused by the disease last month that involved a 22-year-old male.

The Sexually Transmitted Diseases/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory confirmed the cases and reported this to the registry.

“This was 36 percent higher compared to the same period last year (171 in 2011). Most of the cases (97 percent) were males. The median age was 27 years (age range: 19-66 years). The 20-29 year (62 percent) age group had the most number of cases,” the DOH said.

Metro Manila accounted for 117 of the new cases, followed by Central Visayas with 16 percent, Calabarzon 15 percent, Central Luzon five percent, and Davao region with four percent.

Some 97 percent of the cases are males while the 20-29 age group accounted for 67 percent of the cases.

“Reported mode of transmission were sexual contact (210) and needle sharing among injecting drug users (23). Males having sex with other males (88 percent) was the predominant type of sexual transmission,” the DOH noted.

The DOH said 18 of the 233 cases involved male overseas Filipino workers who contracted the AIDS virus through sexual contact.

With these cases, the total number of HIV/AIDS cases in the Philippines since 1984 is now 9,396 and 1,018 of them are AIDS. The death toll is 350.

“There is a significant difference in the number of male and female cases reported. Eighty-four percent (7,872) were males. Ages ranged from 1-81 years (median 29 years). The age groups with the most number of cases were: 20-24 years (21 percent), 25-29 (28 percent), and 30-34 years (19 percent),” the agency added.

The registry showed that 8,589 of the cases were infected through sexual contact; 361 through needle sharing among injecting drug users; 58 cases through mother-to-child transmission; 20 cases through blood transfusion and cases through needle prick injury. The mode of transmission for 375 cases is not listed.

“Cumulative data shows 35 percent (3,000) were infected through heterosexual contact, 39 percent (3,368) through homosexual contact, and 26 percent (2,211) through bisexual contact,” the DOH said.

The Philippines is among the seven countries that continue to report rising cases of HIV/AIDS while the rest of the world has been observing a steady decrease in cases.

The six other nations are Armenia, Bangladesh, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Commercial sex workers used to be the primary source of HIV/AIDS cases in the Philippines but five years ago, the DOH had observed that cases involving male sex partners were increasing.

The DOH had observed an increasing trend among injecting drug users, particularly in Cebu three years ago. –Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star)