HIV cases rise among Filipino males with same sex contact

While undeniably the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a health crisis of unparalleled issues, a statistical report published by the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday, January 4, has confirmed that in 2021, there has been a rise of recorded and diagnosed Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV) and AIDS infection most commonly among Filipino males aging as young as fifteen years old.

The report showed that on a daily basis, DOH records an average of 34 cases of HIV/AIDS infection belonging to the Filipino adolescent and young adult group starting from age fifteen up to twenty-four.

In November 2021, a total of 1,268 has been recorded by DOH’s HIV/AIDS & Art Registry (HARP). 1,211 of those cases belong to male patients while 57 are female. The total number of cases were accounted for the total 93,364 reported cases since January 1984.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

Moreover, the regions with the most number of cases recorded in the latest statistical report by DOH were the National Capital Region (NCR), CALABARZON (4A), Central Luzon 93), SOCCSKSARGEN (12), and Western Visayas (6). These regions compromise (COMPROMiSE or COMPRISE?) 76% of the total number of cases based on the report.

MODE OF TRANSMISSION

Of the total recorded cases as of November 2021 (1,268), 98% were infected through sexual contact, 1% came through the sharing of infected needles and the remaining 1% comes from direct mother-to-child transmission through pregnancy and birth.

Furthermore, the statistical report also revealed that among the total 1,268 cases, almost half belongs to homosexual individuals who engage in same-gender contact, and those who identified themselves as bisexuals are among the most common patients who get infected.

MORTALITY

In November 2021, HARP records 134 deaths due to HIV. Ninety-five percent (127) of them are males. The health agency also verified that 23% of the recorded death are male individuals aged 15-24 years old, 55% were 25-34 young adults, 18% were 35-49 years old while 4% belongs to 50 and above.

As the threat of the coronavirus and its variant lingers, DOH adheres to upgrade its campaign to curb HIV/AIDS nationwide, thus, continues the Information and Education Campaign (IEC) among the LGBTQs community and the younger generation are given to various barangays through the directive of the DOH.