46) October 2012 --- Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry

Newly Diagnosed HIV Cases in the Philippines

In October 2012, there were 295 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 48% higher compared to the same period last year. 

Most of the cases (93%) were males. The median age was 28 years (age range: 15-56 years). The 20-29 years (57%) age-group had the most number of cases. Forty-six percent (137) of the reported cases were from the National Capital Region (NCR).

Reported mode of transmission were sexual contact (286) and needle sharing among injecting drug users (9). Males having sex with other males (83%) were the predominant type of sexual transmission. Most (93%) of the cases were still asymptomatic at the time of reporting.

AIDS Cases

Of the 295 HIV positive cases, twenty-two were reported as AIDS cases, all were males. The median age is 28 years (age range: 19-48 years). All acquired the infection through sexual contact (14 homosexual, 5 heterosexual, and 3 bisexual). There was no reported death for this month.

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW)

Thirty-one of the 295 (11%) reported cases were OFWs. There were 29 males and 2 females. The median age was 30 years (age range: 22-49 years). All acquired the infection through sexual contact (7 heterosexual,  15 homosexual, and 9 bisexual).

Source: Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry