MANILA — The Philippines has recorded 1,347 new HIV cases in September, according to the Department of Health, as the World AIDS Day is marked Thursday.

The latest figure is 37 percent higher compared to the 981 HIV cases reported during the same month last year, the agency said.

Based on the HIV/AIDS & ART Registry of the Philippines, some 1,293 (96%) of the newly diagnosed cases were male while 54 (4%) were female, in which 7 of whom were reported to be pregnant at the time of diagnosis.

The age of the new HIV cases ranged from 2 to 71, the report showed.

Some 3 cases or less than 1 percent were younger than 15 years old; 418 (31%) were 15 to 24; 667 (50%) were 25 to 34; 229 (17%) were 35 to 49 and 30 or (2%) were 50 and above.

In September, sexual contact is still the leading mode of transmission of HIV, representing 1,323 cases or 98 percent.

Five cases were due to sharing of infected needles while 2 others were children who acquired HIV through mother-to-child transmission.

For those who acquired HIV through sexual contact, 941 (71%) were male who have reported history of sex with other male, 260 (20%) have sex with both males and females while 122 (9%) were through an opposite sex.

The HARP data also revealed that more than half or 746 of the newly reported cases were from Metro Manila and surrounding regions of Calabarzon and Central Luzon.

As of September, the DOH said there were 1,058 people who were enrolled in anti-retroviral therapy.

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SPECIFIC POPULATION

For the same period, 418 cases (31%) were youth aged 15-24, among which majority were male.

There were also 72 adolescents aged 10-19, who were infected with HIV through unprotected sexual contact, the HARP data showed.

Of the newly diagnosed children below 10, two were acquired through mother-to-child transmission while one has no data on mode of transmission.

Meanwhile, reporting of gender identity was also included in the HARP.
In September, 799 were cisgender, 44 were transgender women, 1 was transgender man, 495 have no data on gender identity.

Also, of the newly reported cases, 68 were Filipinos who worked overseas within the past 5 years, whether on land or at sea.

Of the figure, 65 were male who all acquired HIV through sexual contact. Three others were female OFWs who were also infected through sexual contact.

Since the first reported HIV infection in the country in 1984, there have been 105,794 confirmed HIV cases recorded to the HARP.

From January 2022 to September 2022, the DOH has tallied 11,476 HIV cases. Of the figure, 813 were deaths due to any cause and not necessarily AIDS-related among people with HIV.

In an earlier interview, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire urged the public to avail of the agency's HIV testing, treatment and support programs.

"I would just like to tell everybody that if you have HIV, it is not a death sentence for you," she has said.

DOH-designated HIV treatment hubs and primary HIV care clinics can be found nationwide.

"You can live a productive life. Hindi po kailangan katakutan, hindi po kailangang pandirian," Vergeire has said.

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