First HIV case in La Union confirmed

SAN FERNANDO, La Union – A health officer here confirmed yesterday the first Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) case in the province after a 23-year-old girl was found positive for the dreaded disease.

Dr. Godofredo Rilloraza, HIV-AIDS coordinator, told The STAR that the woman was a commercial sex worker from Southern Luzon who worked in “red light districts” in the province.

“There is one sex worker that we diagnosed while we are conducting blood screening for syphilis and HIV last year. She turned out to be positive for HIV,” Rilloraza said.

Rilloraza said succeeding laboratory examinations here and in Manila further confirmed their initial findings on the woman’s HIV infection.

He said they were able to trace the girl’s disease during the massive blood screening of guest relations officers (GROs) working in various bars and disco houses in the province as part of the HIV-AIDS awareness campaign.

Rilloraza said the woman has been referred to the HIV-AIDS core team at the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center for intensive counseling and medical support.

He said San Fernando City remains one of the vulnerable areas for HIV-AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the Ilocos region, along with the cities of Dagupan, Laoag and Urdaneta.

Rilloraza said the World Health Organization has chosen San Fernando as one of the pilot areas for the HIV-AIDS awareness campaign and the “condom use program.”