37) September 2012 --- Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry

Newly Diagnosed HIV Cases in the Philippines

In September 2012, there were 316 newly HIV Ab sero-positive individuals confirmed by the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory (SACCL) and reported to the HIV and AIDS Registry. This was 25% higher compared to the same period last year.

Mos of the cases (96%) were males. The median age was 28 years (age range: 16-70 years). The 20-29 year (57%) age-group had the most number of cases. Fifty four percent (170) of the reported cases were from the National Capital Region.

Reported mode of transmission were sexual contact (312) and needle sharing among injecting drug users (4). Males having sex with other males (82%) were the predominant type of sexual transmission. Most (97%) of the cases were still asymptomatic at the time of reporting.

AIDS Cases

Of the 316 HIV positive cases, ten were reported as AIDS cases, all were males. The median age is 24 (age range: 16-49 years). All acquired the infection through sexual contact (6 homosexual, 1 heterosexual, and 3 bisexual). There was no reported death for this month.

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW)

Forty-two of the 316 (13%) reported cases were OFWs. There were 38 males and 4 females. The median age was 32 years (age range: 24-61 years). All acquired the infection through sexual contact (17 heterosexual, 13 homosexual, and 12 bisexual).

Geographic Distribution

In September 2012, bulk of the new HIV cases came from NCR, Region 4A, Region 7, Region 3, and Region 11. The three highest reporting regions were NCR, Region 4A, and Region 7.

Source: 

Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry