ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A four-year-old boy in Zamboanga has been identified as the country’s youngest HIV patient, according to the Department of Health (DOH) regional office here.
Clarissa Jose, DOH regional STI/AIDS program coordinator, said the boy was one of nine HIV patients diagnosed in October.
In a forum yesterday, Jose said the patient, whose identity was withheld, got the human immunodeficiency virus from his parents.
Jose said she could not ascertain how the virus was transmitted to the boy, noting his mother is dead and the father has remarried.
The health official said the government is providing free medicine and closely monitoring the boy and the other HIV patients.
The nine HIV cases were among 159 others recorded since January to October this year.