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Youth now the face of HIV epidemic in PH – Seguerra

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Sherrie Ann Torres, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/nation/9/27/hiv-aids-092716.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Reuters</div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA – The National Youth Commission (NYC) has raised alarm as records show that the young people comprise majority of the new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the country.Data by the Department of Health show about 29 Filipinos get infected by HIV everyday, far higher than the one case per day recorded in 2008.The DOH said 19 of the 29 HIV patients recorded everyday are aged 15 to 24.&quot;Kapag titingnan natin yung datos na iyan, kitang-kita natin na ang bagong mukha ng HIV ay Filipino youth. Ito po ay nakakabahala, ito po ay alarming dahil pataas po ng pataas,” NYC chairperson Aiza Seguerra said.(If we look at the data, we can see that the youth has become the face of HIV epidemic in the Philippines. This is a cause for concern. The rising number of cases is alarming.)The DOH said that as of October 2016, a total of 38,114 HIV cases have been recorded since the government started keeping track of the number of cases in January 1984.The DOH said there have been 7,756 cases recorded so far in 2016.Seguerra noted persons living with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) undetected can only live up to 10 years. A person living with HIV who does not receive antiretroviral therapy is at risk of developing AIDS.A GROWING CRISISDr. Gundo Weiler of World Health Organization said some of the causes of the continuing rise of HIV cases in the Philippines is the lack of sex education and unavailability of protection against sexually transmitted diseases such as condoms.The number of people living with HIV in the world is now more than 37 million, Weiler said. Of this number, about 18 million are receiving anti-retroviral treatment, he added.&quot;The Philippine situation is more dramatic... This year, we might be hitting 10,000 newly-diagnosed with HIV... HIV is everybody&#x27;s business. Everybody should talk about HIV,&quot; Weiler said.Ma. Tresita Marie Bagasao of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), meanwhile, sees the rising number of people living with HIV as a crisis. She said there should already be unity in all sectors of society to end this problem or at least register a plateu of its volume by 2022.The Philippine now has a higher number of HIV cases than Indonesia and Pakistan, Bagasao said.&quot;What is critical is to acknowledge that the infection is really coming to our young generation,&quot; Bagasao said.Majority of those who are getting HIV infections come from the cross-section of society such as out-of-school youth, students and young professionals, she added.&#x27;TALK TO THE KIDS&#x27;To combat the continuous rise in the number of HIV/AIDS cases, Seguerra appealed to parents to openly discuss sex with their children.&quot;I am pleading to you parents, please talk to your children about sex. Please tell them that they need to be protected... It can happen to your kids, it can happen to our children,&quot; Seguerra said.Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Ubial, meanwhile, said there is no required or ideal age as to when parents can discuss sex with their child.&quot;You talk to the child as if you&#x27;re discussing an ordinary topic under the sun. Be factual. Huwag nang mag-analogy,&quot; Ubial said.Ubial said the DOH is now establishing more testing centers and studying the possibility of promoting self-testing.The DOH is also providing anti-retroviral therapy so that persons living with HIV can receive proper medication and live normally.Elena Felix and Rommel Legwes, who were diagnosed with HIV in 1994 and 2004, respectively, both urged other people living with HIV to come out and have themselves treated.They also appeal not to be &quot;stigmatized&quot; by being persons living with the virus.Both also asked all sexually active individuals, specifically those who have multiple sex partners, to undergo HIV testing.Experts also note that it takes at least 3 months from the time of actual infection before the virus can be detected in a person.

MANILA – The National Youth Commission (NYC) has raised alarm as records show that the young people comprise majority of the new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the country.

MANILA – The National Youth Commission (NYC) has raised alarm as records show that the young people comprise majority of the new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the country.

Youth now the face of HIV epidemic in PH – Seguerra

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Youth now the face of HIV epidemic in PH – Seguerra

Sherrie Ann Torres,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 01, 2016 06:54 PM PHT

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HIV

AIDS

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