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High number of AIDS cases in RP just ‘tip of the iceberg’ - DOH
The more than 4,000 confirmed HIV-AIDS infections in the country are just "the tip of the iceberg," the Department of Health (DOH) said on Wednesday as it expressed alarm over the continuously increasing number of cases.
Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said latest data from the Philippine National AIDS Council showed that as of January 2009, there has been 4,400 documented cases of HIV-AIDS infections in the country.
"There is an escalation of diagnosis of HIV-AIDS patients. This is alarming and I was surprised by the figures," Cabral told GMANews.TV in a phone interview.
* By having unprotected sex - sex without a condom- with someone who has HIV. The virus can be in an infected person’s blood, semen, or vaginal secretions and can enter your body through tiny cuts or sores in your skin, or in the lining of your vagina, penis, rectum, or mouth.
* By sharing a needle and syringe to inject drugs or sharing drug equipment used
to prepare drugs for injection with someone who has HIV.
* From a blood transfusion or blood clotting factor.
Babies born to women with HIV also can become infected during pregnancy, birth, or breast-feeding.
You cannot get HIV:
* By working with or being around someone who has HIV.
* From sweat, spit, tears, clothes, drinking fountains, phones, toilet seats, or through
everyday things like sharing a meal.
* From insect bites or stings.
* From donating blood.
* From a closed-mouth kiss (but there is a very small chance of getting it from open-mouthed or "French" kissing with an infected person because of possible blood contact).
Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Testing for HIV is key to slowing down the AIDS epidemic. An HIV test could provide peace of mind to anyone who is at risk from the disease.
The cost of an HIV test would usually range between 300 and 1,500 pesos depending on the clinic.
See list of DOH-accredited centers here.
She added the current figures easily became the "highest ever" since the government started collecting data about the deadly disease in 1984.
'Doubling time'
Making matters worse are additional studies showing that the "doubling time" - or the number of years by which figures become twice as many - for HIV-AIDS incidents has gone from 10 years in the 1990s to just one year in 2009.
The one-year doubling time meant that the 4,400 cases in 2009 could shoot up to 8,800 by the end of this year, prompting the Health department to declare an epidemic.
“If the doubling time remains stable in the next years, it would then mean cases would reach 17,600 by 2011, and 35,200 by 2012 and so on," Cabral added.
DOH vs church
Despite earning strong objection from the Roman Catholic Church, Cabral said the DOH would push through with its AIDS prevention and information campaign, which includes the distribution of free condoms.
“[Spreading exponentially] is the behavior of infectious diseases like HIV if you do not control it . . . That's why we have to contain the rise," Cabral stressed.
Cabral said instead of getting in the way of government programs aimed at preventing the further spread of the virus, the Church should just cooperate with the campaign. [See: DOH chief scores Church for blocking AIDS prevention effort]
She pointed out that aside from promoting the use of condoms, her department also prioritizes abstinence and faithfulness among couples.
“They [church] say they are the guardians of morality. That's their self-imposed duty... Kung ang methodology of the Church for preventing AIDS is to remain abstinent or faithful, pangatawanan nila iyon," she said.
Cases every year
Dr. Edcel Salvana, a University of the Philippines College of Medicine associate professor and head of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Infectious Diseases Department, said there were only two HIV confirmed cases in the country in 1984, but the number jumped to 118 after 10 years.
He said that in 2004, confirmed HIV cases reached 199. In 2007 until October of 2009, the number has drastically gone up to 629, more than double the previous years’ recorded cases. [See: HIV is 'hidden and growing epidemic' in RP]
For 2009, Cabral said the Health department has recorded two HIV-AIDS cases daily. But based on most recent PNAC data, the DOH has recorded at least 4 cases everyday from December 2009 to January 2010. - KBK, GMANews.TV
If you want to undergo HIV testing, visit the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory at the San Lazaro Hospital, Quiricada St., Sta. Cruz, Manila. Tel No: 732-3776 to 78 Local 207
