498 new HIV cases recorded last month

MANILA, Philippines - A 20-month-old boy was among 498 new cases of HIV (human immunovirus) infection recorded by the Department of Health (DOH) in March, the Philippines HIV and AIDS Registry showed yesterday.

Based on the registry, the boy contracted the virus through mother-to-child transmission or from his HIV-infected mother while he was still in the womb.

Health assistant secretary and chief epidemiologist Eric Tayag stressed the need for pregnant women “who think they are at risk of HIV” to undergo tests.

“If they are pregnant and they are positive for HIV, we can give them medication to prevent the baby from getting infected. It is very important for them to be tested if they are at risk,” Tayag said, noting the DOH is not discouraging infected women from having a baby.

He said the agency wants them informed about the virus in order to be able to protect the child in the womb.

“It’s really up to the couple. But not all infected women could pass the virus to the babies in their wombs. Just like the case of Sara Jane, who was HIV-infected but her baby was tested negative for the virus,” he said.

Tayag was referring to Sara Jane Salazar, the second Filipino to go public about having HIV in the early 1990s.

The registry showed of the 498 HIV cases recorded in March, 53 were already AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) at the time of reporting. This brought to 1,432 the total number of cases recorded during the first quarter of the year – the highest number recorded by the registry since 1984.

The registry indicated 138 of the new cases belonged to the 15-24-age group, while one was below 15 years old. There were 17 deaths.