Love Yourself, an advocacy group which aims to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS through awareness, counseling, and education, will hold a free and confidential HIV screening in Makati. The project is dubbed, Makati SEB (Screening Exclusively for Boys). Makati SEB will be held on November 23, Friday, 5 PM to 2 AM. With regards to the details and venue of the testing, it will be sent to pre-registered participants. To register and join, please visit this LINK. The event is part of the group's HIV Triduum, a 3-day event in preparation for World AIDS Day 2012....

I am Pinoy Positive, a young man from the Philippines living with HIV. Aside from running the halls of the hospital for more than three years as an ICU nurse, I also run half-marathons in road and trail races. I was diagnosed on March 2012 just as my career in the healthcare industry was about to take off. I was set to work abroad, but HIV did not permit me to do so. I already received my work visa to go abroad, and my departure date was set on the second week of April. However, during my medical exam on March 29, I was diagnosed positive for HIV. My remaining two weeks in the Philippines had already been planned. However, because of the diagnosis, I was left with much confusion as...

Online social networking contributes tot he rise in the cases of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in the country, according to a study conducted by the Department of Health. The mushrooming of social networking sites, which cater to people looking for sex partners, has been pinpointed as one of the major factors in the rise of HIV/AIDS cases in the Philippines. Dr. Eric Tayag, director of the National Epidemiology Center (NEC), told a seminar for media on HIV/AIDS Thursday. Citing a study that the Department of Health conducted last year, Tayag said online social networking sites are creating new opportunities, particularly for men having...

People who are positive to HIV may not have symptoms of HIV infection for 10 years or longer, but they can still transmit the infection to others during this symptom-free period. People often only begin to feel sick when they progress towards AIDS.  Some symptoms of HIV infection are similar to symptoms of many other common illnesses such as flu, respiratory infections, or gastrointestinal infections. And for this reason, HIV Testing is the only way to know for sure if a person is infected. Early Stages of HIV Two to four weeks after contracting the virus, a person can experience flu-like symptoms. This stage is called Acute Retroviral Syndrome (ARS), and it is the body's...

MODES OF TRANSMISSION There are five body fluids that can transmit HIV, namely: Blood Semen (including pre-cum/pre-ejaculatory fluid) Vaginal/Cervical fluids Rectal/Anal fluids Breast milk Note: Feces, saliva, nasal fluid, urine, vomit, tears, and sweat  DO NOT contain enough HIV to infect a person, unless they have blood mixed in them and that a person has significant and direct contact with them. HOW IS HIV TRANSMITTED? HIV is spread through body fluids primarily by: 1. Unprotected Sex (vaginal, anal, oral) Vaginal and and sex are both high risk if no condom is used, and considered low risk if a condom is used. Oral sex is a lower risk activity, with or without...

The convention, which was previously announced to be a two-day event, has been set to a single day: October 19, 2012. The venue is still at The Bayleaf Hotel in Intramuros, Manila. The following transcript is taken from the fb page of the AIDS Society of the Philippines, Inc., as well as their online event invitation: AIDS Society of the Philippines, Inc. cordially invites you to its 12th Philippine National Convention on AIDS this October 19, 2012 at The Bayleaf Hotel, Intramuros, Manila. TOPICS: Medical Response: Is it Treatment or Cure? Patient Zero: The Berlin Patient Understanding HIV Treatment (Anti-Retroviral Therapy) Nursing Care Social Response Understanding...

Newly Diagnosed HIV Cases in the Philippines In August 2012, there were 272 new HIV Ab sero-positive individuals confirmed by the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory (SACCL) and reported to the HIV and AIDS Registry. This was 39% higher compared to the same period last year. Most of the cases (95%) were males. The median age was 28 years (age range: 18-60 years). The 20-29 year (59%) age group had the most number of cases. Fifty-one percent (138) of the reported cases were from the National Capital Region (NCR). Reported modes of transmission were sexual contact (253) and needle sharing among injecting drug users (19). Males having sex with other males (86%) were the predominant...