MANILA, Philippines — Despite the government’s repeated calls for the public to have themselves tested early for HIV—the human immunodeficiency virus that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS — almost 20 percent of the more than 1,100 new cases recorded in July were still found to have already advanced to AIDS.

At 18 percent, or 199 of the total 1,111 new cases in July, the proportion of people with advanced HIV infection at the time they had themselves tested, had remained largely unchanged based on Department of Health (DOH) monitoring.

Since the start of the year, those who had clinical manifestations of AIDS represented between 15 percent to 20 percent of all new cases. The DOH data showed that the average number of those with AIDS at the time of testing has stayed the same over the last two years.

Health officials earlier appealed to the public, especially those from vulnerable sectors such as the youth and men who have sex with men (MSM), to have themselves tested early for HIV so they could receive treatment immediately.

Based on the World Health Organization’s HIV guidelines, unexplained chronic diarrhea for a month, pulmonary tuberculosis, recurrent severe bacterial pneumonia and chronic herpes simplex infection are among the clinical signs that a person’s condition has already advanced to AIDS.

While antiretroviral therapy doesn’t cure HIV, it helps reduce a person’s viral load and the risk of transmitting the virus.

The DOH said in June that a total of 38,903 people living with HIV are currently receiving treatment.

In the latest report, the most affected are those between 25 and 34 years old, who compose 51 percent of the new cases (567).

Most HIV cases—34 percent or 380—are recorded in the National Capital Region.

Other regions that reported high HIV incidence are Calabarzon (180), Central Luzon (134) and Central Visayas (93).

Earlier, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said that while new cases worldwide from 2010 to 2018 had declined by at least 18 percent, the Philippines saw the “fastest” HIV growth rate as infections in the country surged by 203 percent in the same period.

UNAIDS country director Louie Ocampo said that among the factors behind the continued rise of HIV cases was the lack of access of key vulnerable populations to contraceptives like condoms. HIV testing and treatment also remain wanting.

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MANILA, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) — The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday an estimated 120,000 additional people in the Western Pacific region are still being infected with HIV each year, with a significant increase in new infections in the Philippines.

WHO said current HIV prevention efforts in the region focus on key populations, such as men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs and sex workers.

“These efforts include the use of antiretrovirals as pre-exposure prophylaxis, community-based HIV testing and partner notification, and transitioning to newer and more effective drug regimens,” WHO said in a statement.

The good news is that more and more HIV patients in the region have access to HIV treatment, the United Nations health agency added.

WHO noted “progress” in access to HIV treatment in the region, which has grown from 34 percent in 2014 to 59 percent in 2018, with 1.11 million of an estimated 1.9 million people living with HIV on antiretroviral treatment.

WHO said hepatitis remains “a key challenge” for the region, with an estimated 115 million people with chronic hepatitis B infection and 14 million with chronic hepatitis C infection.

Currently, WHO said only 17 percent are diagnosed and a mere 3 percent are receiving treatment.

Chronic hepatitis B and C are the most common causes of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, according to WHO.

At the 17th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific being held in Manila since Monday, health leaders agreed to develop a nine-year action plan to eradicate hepatitis.

“Delegates emphasized the need to overcome barriers to testing and treatment, since too few people are aware they are infected with hepatitis, or receive the medications to treat it,” WHO added.

WHO said it will continue working with countries, experts and partners to develop a hepatitis regional action plan for 2021 to 2030.

Responding to rising rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in some countries, delegates also welcomed support from WHO to estimate the number of people infected, intensify surveillance and update treatment guidelines.

WHO said stigma, discrimination and inequitable access to services, particularly among key populations, still pose challenges in the region for those with HIV, hepatitis and STIs.

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MANILA, Philippines — More than 1,000 new HIV/AIDS cases, including three pregnant women, were recorded by the Department of Health (DOH) last May, a report showed yesterday.

Based on the May 2019 HIV/AIDS Registry of the Philippines prepared by the DOH Epidemiology Bureau, there were 1,092 new HIV cases reported in May. This is higher than the 950 new HIV cases recorded in May 2018.

Of this figure, 17 percent or 190 cases had clinical manifestations of either being advanced HIV infections or full-blown AIDS. There were 53 deaths in May.

The DOH said three of the newly diagnosed cases are pregnant women. Two of them came from Central Luzon while one was from the Bicol region.

Sexual contact remains the predominant mode of transmission with 1,059 (97 percent) cases, of which 902 (85 percent) are males who have sex with males.

The DOH noted that male-to-male sex accounted for 642 cases; followed by 260 from those having sex with both male and female and 157 from male-to-female sex.

Another mode of transmission were needle sharing among injecting drug users, which accounted for 14 cases.

Data shows there were six cases of mother-to-child transmission while another 13 cases had no data on the mode of transmission.

The DOH added the National Capital Region had the highest cases at 399; followed by Calabarzon with 170; Central Luzon with 124; Central Visayas with 82 and Western Visayas with 79.

Since 1984, there were 67,395 HIV cases recorded in the country, with 8,017 AIDS cases and 3,357 deaths.

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