MANILA, Philippines – A total of 212 Filipinos were diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in November, a Department of Health (DOH) report said.
The figure is 89% higher compared to the 112 cases reported in the same month in 2010. This brought the cumulative number of HIV cases discovered in the first 11 months of 2011 to 2,081.
Of the 212 new cases, 199 were males while 13 were females. Their median age was 28 years.
The figure also included 25 overseas Filipino workers.
Fifty-eight percent of the new cases, or 124, were from Metro Manila.
“Reported mode of transmission was all sexual contact. Males having sex with other males (85%) were the predominant type of sexual transmission. Most (99%) of the cases were still asymptomatic at the time of reporting,” the report said.
“Of the 212 HIV positive cases, three were reported as AIDS cases, one was female and two were males. Their median age is 27 years… Of the AIDS cases, there was one reported death for this month — a 26-year-old female,” it added.
AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, is the disease caused by HIV.
LPG Marketers Association Rep. Arnel Ty hopes that Congress can revisit the country’s AIDS law amid the rising number of HIV cases these past few years.
“I don’t see na nabibigyan [ang tao] ng tamang information, di kamukha noong panahon ni (Health) Secretary Juan Flavier, active ang DOH na sabihan at takutin ang mamamayan,” he said.
Ty and four of his colleagues in Congress are pushing for a budget of P400 million to jumpstart a national action plan aimed at suppressing HIV/AIDS. (ABS-CBN)
PINOY SNIPER 