Young people overtake OFWs as leading HIV carrier

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ILOILO CITY – Five years ago, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were considered as main carrier of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) but is currently overtaken by young people aged 15 to 24 due to their unprotected and unsafe sexual activities.

Dr. Elvie Villabos, chief of infectious disease cluster head of the Department of Health (DOH) in the region said the young people contributed a lot to the increase of HIV-AIDS cases from one new case per day in 2008 to 27 new diagnosed cases per day in February 2016 or about 31,911 cases by February.

In Western Visayas, the health department diagnosed one case every 23 hours per day.

DOH said that from 2011 to 2015, newly diagnosed HIV cases among young key affected populations (YKAP) increased by 230 percent of which, male to male sex and males who have sex with both male and female were the two predominant modes of transmission.

DOH findings also showed that female sex workers and people who inject drugs start engaging in high-risk behaviors during their adolescent years.

Behaviors of the young people at high risk include alcoholic beverages and taking recreational drugs and a high percentage of the young people have sex while drunk.

The high risk age group indulges in unprotected sex without fully understanding the consequence of heir behavior, the DOH said.

Cases from January 1986 to February 2016 include actual AIDS and symptomatic cases with 41 and 264 cases in Iloilo City, 36 and 182 cases in Iloilo Province, 37 and 195 cases in Bacolod City, 14 and 183 cases in Negros Occidental, nine and 79 cases in Capiz, 18 and 58 cases in Aklan, 14 and 33 cases in Antique, and five and 19 cases in Guimaras.

In Iloilo Province, the municipalities with most number of cases are Oton, Pototan, Passi City, Pavia, Calinog, San Enrique, Janiuay, Cabatuan, Barotac Nuevo and Tigbauan.