46 AIDS deaths, 650 HIV cases recorded in December–DOH

AP FILE PHOTO

There were 46 AIDS deaths and 650 new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reported in December last year according to the Department of Health.

HIV could lead to the fatal Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which the body’s immune system is attacked and totally damaged by the virus.

Of the 650  new HIV cases, 27 cases developed into full-blown AIDS, according to the latest Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry. The figure is 28 percent higher than in the same period in 2014.

According to the DOH report, Metro Manila accounted for 38 percent of the total number of HIV cases reported that month. This was followed by Calabarzon with 15 percent; Central Luzon, 10 percent; Davao region, 8 percent, and Central Visayas, 7 percent.

About 97 percent (632 cases) were acquired through sexual contact, 555 of them men who had sex with other men. Seventeen of the new cases were injecting drug users, while one case was acquired through mother-to-child transmission.

 Steady rise

Of the cases reported in December, 46 were overseas Filipino workers who got infected through sexual contact.

The new cases brought to 7,829 the total number of HIV cases reported in 2015, of which 503 developed into AIDS. There were a total of 461 deaths recorded for the entire year, said the health department.

Despite increased surveillance and free access to testing, the DOH reported a steady rise in HIV cases, attributing this to the low level of comprehensive knowledge on the virus and dismal condom use among vulnerable populations, particularly males having sex with other males.

Earlier, Health Secretary Janette Garin warned that if the government and other stakeholders would not invest in preventing new HIV infections in the country, the figures would reach 133,000 by 2022, which would cost the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. P4 billion a year for the outpatient HIV package alone.