55) December 2012 - Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry

Newly Diagnosed HIV Cases in the Philippines

In December 2012, there were 293 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 9% higher compared to the same period last year.

Most of the cases (97%) were males. The median age was 28 years (age range: 18-70 years). The 20-29 year (57%) age-group had the most number of cases. Fifty-two percent (152) of the reported cases were from the National Capital Region (NCR).

Reported mode of transmission were sexual contact (288) and needle sharing among injecting drug users (5). Males having sex with other males (83%) were the predominant type of sexual transmission. Most (95%) of the cases were still asymptomatic at the time of reporting.

AIDS Cases

Of the 293 HIV positive cases, fourteen were reported as AIDS cases, 12 males and 2 females. The median age is 31 years (age range: 23-55 years). All acquired the infection through sexual contact (4 homosexual, 4 heterosexual, and 6 bisexual). There was no reported death for this month.

Overseas Filipino Workers

Twelve of the 293 (4%) reported cases were OFWs.  There were 11 males and 1 female. The median age was 29 years (age range: 23-56 years). All acquired the infection through sexual contact (6 heterosexual, 3 homosexual, and 3 bisexual).

Geographic Distribution

In December 2012, bulk of the new HIV cases came from NCR, Region 4A, Region 3, Region 11, and Region 7. 

Source: 

Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry