PIA, 28 July 2014

ILOILO CITY, July 28 (PIA) --- The Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas said that HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is no longer a "death sentence" for persons who have acquired the disease.

This is amid the increasing number of HIV cases in the region with 115 new recorded cases last year, according to DOH-6.

Charity Perea, DOH-6 Regional Nurse Coordinator for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), said that there are various government programs addressing to seek concerns of people living with HIV (PLHIV) including free medications and counseling.

"Anti-Retrovirals (ARVs) are being provided for free in select government hospitals in Western Visayas", she emphasized.

Perea said that ARVs have made HIV/AIDS a "manageable disease" and can prolong the life of HIV patients when taken religiously.

She said that HIV Antibody Test is also available for free at the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in Mandurriao district here and in the Social Hygiene Clinic in Tanza, Iloilo City.

In Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, free HIV testing is also available at Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) and in Roxas Memorial Provincial Hospital in Roxas City, Capiz.

Meanwhile, Dr. Elvie Villalobos, DOH-6 Head for Infectious Disease Cluster, advised the public, especially registered sex workers, to practice safe sex by using proper protection, such as condoms.

According to the Center for Diseases Control (CDC), HIV/AIDS can be transmitted through sexual contact, injection drug equipment, blood transfusion, pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding by an infected mother, among others.

The DOH official said that sexual contact is the primary means that HIV/AIDS is transmitted to one person to another, accounting for 99 percent of the recorded cases. Only one percent is through blood transfusion with the use of needles.

Of the HIV/AIDS cases transmission through sexual contact, 36 percent is spread through homosexual (man-to-man, woman-to-woman) sex, 35 percent is through heterosexual (man-to-woman) sex, and 28 percent through bisexual (man-to-man/woman and vice versa) sex.

DOH records show that from May 1994 to February 2014, 553 HIV-AIDS cases were recorded in the region. These include 466 HIV cases and 87 full-blown AIDS cases.

Data from DOH-6 also showed that Iloilo has the most number of HIV/AIDS cases with 249, followed by Negros Occidental with 198; Capiz, 42; Aklan, 41; Antique, 16; and Guimaras, seven. (JCM/LTP/PIA-Iloilo)

By: Leonard T. Pineda

Source: PIA