The Department of Health on Monday  said that the cases of human immunodeficiency virus or HIV since it was first detected in the country in 1984 have now reached 11,125.

According to the National Epidemiology Center latest data, 2,761 of the cases were recorded from January to October 2012.

The DOH warned that that HIV/AIDS cases would balloon to 45,000 in 2015 because of continued unsafe sex practices of Filipinos.

Moreover, the DOH said that in October alone there were new 295 cases of HIV confirmed in the country, saying that the diseases is 48 percent higher compared to the same period last year where it recorded 200 cases.

The data also showed that most of the October cases (93 percent) were male with the medial age of 28 year old (age range 15 to 56 years) and the 20 to 29 years age group had the most number of cases.

The DOH also said that 46  percent (137) of the reported cases were from the National Capital Region (NCR), 12 percent, Region 4-A; and both 9 percent in Region 7 and Region 9.

It said that the reported common mode of HIV transmission of all the cases in the Philippines was sexual contact and males having sex with males.

“Males having sex with other males were the predominant type of sexual transmission through heterosexual contact, followed by homosexual contact then bisexual contact,” DOH said.

It added that other common mode of transmission were through needle sharing among injecting drug users and through mother-to-child transmission.
 
OFW, blood transfusion
The DOH also said that 31 of the 295 reported cases were overseas Filipino workers 29 males and two females with the median age was 30 years (age range: 22-49 years).

It said that all of the OFW cases were acquired the infection through sexual contact (seven heterosexual, 15 homosexual and nine bisexual).

The agency’s data also revealed that as of October 2012 at least 194 blood units were confirmed to be positive for HIV.

It said that for October 2012, 14 blood units have been screened with HIV.

“These are confirmed positive blood units, not blood donors. One donor can donate more than one blood unit. HIV positive blood donors may not be in the HIV & AIDS Registry unless they underwent voluntary counseling and testing as individuals,” the DOH said.

Meanwhile, the Health department said that the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, leads to AIDS, the latter is a condition of body’s where the virus attacked and damaged the immune systems, which will eventually cause death.