19 Oct DOH-NorthMin Recorded 363 New HIV-Aids Cases in MisOr
A total of 363 new cases of HIV-Aids for the first six months of 2016 in Misamis Oriental, Department of Health (DOH)-Northern Mindanao Infectious Disease Division representative Ian Jose Banaag, and the Northern Mindanao Medical Center HIV-Aids Core Team (NMMC-HACT) reported.
Misamis Oriental retained to top the case rate ranking of HIV-Aids cases in Northern Mindanao and ranks seventh in the national HIV-Aids growth rate, according to an official of the DOH-Northern Mindanao.
Banaag stated, “In the whole region we have an average of 5 cases of HIV reported per day. If this trend continues, inevitably MisOr will still retain its position for the rest of the year.”
Northern Mindanao is the seventh fastest case growth rate for HIV-Aids in the country, with a 2 percent increase this year.
The National Capital Region placed first in the ranking with a 40 percent growth rate from the last year.
There are already 18 deaths recorded by the NMMC-HACT caused by HIV-Aids, Conception Pagara of NMMC-HACT said.
People in the age of 15 to 24 has the highest rate of HIV-Aids awareness, said Banaag. He added that the majority of reported transmission were through the male-to-male sexual contact and the reusing of syringe needles.
From January to June 2016, there is a total of 841 cases of HIV-Aids recorded nationwide, 798 of which are male, 43 are female, and the remaining 63 were recorded deaths, Banaag disclosed.
The spread of the HIV-Aids is still questionable in the province, said President of the Misamis Oriental-Cagayan de Oro Network, Fritzie Estoque.
Estoque stated, “If we look at DOH’s statistics, it is alarming that the highest rate of people living with HIV comes from the youth. We have heard since May of last year that the province especially Cagayan de Oro is one of the top places with cases of HIV and it still increases up till now. This is a call then to target the general population in the educational programs.”
Hospital and medical centers in the city such as JR Borja Hospital, the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC), and the Maria Reyna-Xavier University Hospital, now give a free HIV-Aids diagnosis to all individuals who want to test if they are positive for the virus.
Estoque stated, “Many people don’t know that sharing utensils, hugging, kissing, or staying with a person living with HIV is not actually fatal. By information dissemination, we will educate people that HIV can only be transmitted through contact with the four body fluids such as blood, seminal secretion, vaginal fluid, and breast milk. Unless you come in contact with these through sex or feeding, you are actually safe from the virus.”
News Source: Sun.Star
No Comments