DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH MAY 2010

NATIONAL EPIDEMIOLOG Y CENTER

Newly Diagnosed HIV Cases in the Philippines

In May 2010, there were 153 new HIV Ab sero- Table 1. Quick Facts
positive individuals confirmed by the STD/AIDS Demographic Data May Jan-May Cumulative Data:
2010 2010 1984—2010
Cooperative Central Laboratory (SACCL) and
Total Reported Cases 5,124
Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry

153 700
reported to the HIV and AIDS Registry (Table 1).
Asymptomatic Cases 153 692 4,283
This was a 80% increase compared to the same
AIDS Cases 0 8 841
period last year (n=85 in 2009) [Figure 1]. Of the
Males 144 637 3,869*
153 individuals reported, 30 were detected from
Females 7 61 1,242*
voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) as part of
Youth 15-24yo 55 217 941
ongoing community outreach activities. Most of the
Children <15yo 0 1 53
cases (95%) were males. The median age was 28
years (age range: 17-56 years). The 20-29 year Reported Deaths due to AIDS 0 1 322
(58%) age-group had the most number cases. * No data available on sex for eleven (11) cases.

Forty-six percent (71) of the reported cases were

Figure 1. Number of New HIV Cases per Month (2008-2010)
from the National Capital Region (NCR). 175
150

Number of New Cases

Reported mode of transmission was sexual contact 125

(122) and re-using needles among injecting drug 100

users (28), [Table 2, page 2]. Three did not mention 75

50
mode of transmission. Males having sex with other 25
Males (88%) were the predominant type of sexual 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
transmission [Figure 2]. All of the cases were still
asymptomatic at the time of reporting [Figure 3]. 2008 40 52 38 47 35 32 53 41 57 59 36 38

2009 65 47 59 66 85 40 70 61 56 80 80 126

There were no reported AIDS cases and deaths for 2010 143 130 120 154 153

this month. Figure 2. Comparison of the Proportion of Types of Sexual

Transmission in 2010, 2009 & Cumulative Data (1984-2010)
100%
Heterosexual
16
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) 90%
21 Bisexual
80% Homosexual
2319
Twenty of the 153 (8%) reported cases were OFWs
Proportion of Cases

70%
50
[Figure 9, page 3]. Sixteen (80%) were males. The
60% 25
50%
median age was 32 years (age range: 22-49 years). 40% 787
All cases acquired the HIV infection through sexual 30%

contact (7 heterosexual, 7 homosexual, and 6 20% 56 36

1448
bisexual). 10%

0%
May 2010 May 2009 Cumulative

Figure 3. Number of HIV/AIDS Cases Reported in the Philippines by Year, Jan 1984 to May 2010 (N=5,124)
1000

800
Number of New Cases

600

400

200

0
'84 '85 '86 '87 '88 '89 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10

TOTAL 2 10 29 38 32 39 66 85 72 102 118 116 154 117 189 158 123 174 184 193 199 210 309 342 528 835 700

Asymptomatic 0 6 18 25 21 29 48 68 51 64 61 65 104 94 144 80 83 118 140 140 162 171 273 314 508 806 692

AIDS 2 4 11 13 11 10 18 17 21 38 57 51 50 23 45 78 40 56 44 53 37 39 36 28 20 29 8

Death 2 4 10 12 9 8 15 13 13 11 19 24 27 10 16 17 9 20 11 10 5 16 18 8 9* 1 1

* Five initially asymptomatic cases reported in 2008, died due to AIDS that same year.
1
Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry May 2010

AIDS Cases (1984-2010)

Fig 4. Proportion of Modes of Transmission of AIDS Cases by Year,
Of the 700 HIV positive cases in 2010, eight were reported
Jan 1984—May 2010
as AIDS. Eighty-seven percent were males. Ages ranged
from 23-40 years. All acquired the infection through sexual 100%

contact [heterosexual (1), homosexual contact (6), and

Number of New Cases

bisexual contact (1)].
75%

From 1984 to 2010, there were 841 AIDS cases reported, 50%

71% (595) were males. Median age was 35 years (range

1-72 years). Thirty-eight percent (318) had already died. 25%

Sexual contact was the most common mode of HIV trans-

mission, accounting for 93% (781) of all AIDS cases. More 0%
1984-2007 2008 2009 2010

than half (445) of sexual transmission was through hetero- Needle Prick 2 0 0 0

sexual contact, followed by homosexual contact (263) Blood Transfusion 10 0 0 0

then bisexual contact (73). Other modes of transmission MTCT 16 0 1 0

include: mother-to-child transmission (17), blood transfu- IDU 3 1 0 0

sion (10), injecting drug use (4), and needle prick injuries Bisexual Contact 60 4 8 1

Homosexual Contact 233 10 14 6

(2) [Figure 4]. Three percent (27) of the AIDS cases did not Heterosexual Contact 432 5 6 1
report mode of HIV transmission.

Demographic Characteristics (1984-2010)

In 2010, there were a total of 700 cases reported. 91% of Figure 5. Proportion of Sex & Age-Groups in May 2010 & Jan-May 2010
the cases reported were males (637). The 25-29 year old 100%

age group (29%) had the most number of cases for 2010.
For the male age group, the most number of cases were 75%
Number of New Cases

found among the 20-24 years old (27%) and 25-34 years
old (31%) [Figure 5]. 50%

From 1984 to 2010, there were 5,124 HIV Ab sero-positive 25%

cases reported (Table 1), of which 4,283 (84%) were

asymptomatic and 841 (16%) were AIDS cases. As shown 0%

in Figure 6, there is a significant difference in the number May 2010 (M) May 2010 (F) 2010 (Male) 2010 (Female)

of male and female cases reported. Seventy-six percent 50 & older 3 0 17 2

35-49yo 33 3 110 14

(3,869) were males. The age groups with the most number 25-34yo 56 2 314 24

of cases were: 20-24 years (16%), 25-29 (24%) and 30-34 15-24yo 52 2 195 21

years (20%) [Figure 6]. 1-14yo 0 0 1 0

* Two cases in May 2010 did not have data on age and sex

Figure 6. Comparison of the Distribution of Male and Female HIV Cases by Age-Group and Certain Highlighted Years
50 & older 1984-2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

45-49yo

40-44yo

35-39yo

30-34yo

25-29yo

20-24yo

15-19yo Number of Female Cases

Number of Male Cases
<15yo

1000 750 500 250 0 0 250 500 750 1000

<15yo 15-19yo 20-24yo 25-29yo 30-34yo 35-39yo 40-44yo 45-49yo 50 & older <15yo 15-19yo 20-24yo 25-29yo 30-34yo 35-39yo 40-44yo 45-49yo 50 & older

2010 1 22 173 194 120 48 45 17 17 2010 0 4 17 9 15 5 5 3 2

2009 1 22 179 227 124 89 41 19 28 2009 1 4 13 19 21 20 14 6 5

2008 2 11 91 141 90 59 36 23 20 2008 0 0 8 14 8 10 9 3 3

2007 6 1 36 74 54 43 30 15 19 2007 3 0 4 16 12 14 6 5 3

2006 1 2 26 48 40 38 20 21 23 2006 3 3 13 13 22 16 8 4 8

1984-2005 20 12 95 252 320 283 229 149 134 1984-2005 15 30 174 196 168 124 76 26 33

2
 Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry May 2010

Modes of Transmission (1984-2010)

In 2010, 80% (560) were infected through sexual Figure 7. Proportion of Modes of HIV Transmission by Age-Group, 2010 (n=700*)
contact, 17% (120) through needle sharing among 400

injecting drug users and 1% (1) was mother-to-child

transmission; 3% (19) had no data on mode of transmis-
350

sion (Table 2). There were 517 males and 41 females 300

infected through sexual transmission. Their ages ranged

Number of Cases
250

from 18-71 years old. There were 105 males and 15 200

females who were infected through sharing of unclean

needles. Their ages ranged from 16-55 years old [Figure
150

7]. 100

Of the 5,124 with HIV from 1984 to 2010, 89% (4,554) 50

were infected through sexual contact, 1% (50) through 0

mother-to-child transmission and 3% (128) through <6yo 7-14yo 15-17yo 18-24yo 25-34yo 35-49yo 50&older

needle sharing among injecting drug users. Other modes Maternal to Child 1 - - - - - -

Injecting Drug Use - Female - - - 6 5 4 -

of transmission are listed in Table 2. No data is available Injecting Drug Use - Male - - 5 39 31 27 3

for 7% (370) of the cases. Cumulative data shows 51% Heterosexual Contact - Female - - - 12 17 10 2

(2,319) were infected through heterosexual contact, 32% Heterosexual Contact - Male - - - 11 31 14 8

(1,448) through homosexual contact, and 17% (787) Bisexual Contact - - - 53 97 28 -

Homosexual Contact - - - 85 149 37 6

through bisexual contact. From 2007 there has been a * No data available on Modes of Transmission for nineteen (19) cases.
shift in the predominant trend of sexual transmission
from heterosexual contact (28%) to males having sex
Figure 8. Proportion of Types of Sexual Transmission, Jan 1984—May 2010
with males (72%) [Figure 8].
100%

Table 2. Reported Mode of HIV Transmission 90%

Mode of Transmission May 2010 Jan—May 2010 Cumulative

n=153 n=700 N=5,124
80%

70%

Sexual Contact 4,554

Proportion of Cases

122 560 60%

Heterosexual contact 16 (13%) 105 (19%) 2, 319 (51%) 50%

Homosexual contact 56 (46%) 277 (50%) 1,448 (32%) 40%

Bisexual contact 50 (41%) 178 (32%) 787 (17%) 30%

Blood/Blood Products 0 0 19 20%

Injecting Drug Use 28 120 128 10%

Needle Prick Injury 3

0%
0 0 '84 '85 '86 '87 '88 '89 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10

Mother-to-Child 0 1 50 Heterosexual 1 7 24 24 16 19 35 30 41 47 58 56 81 82 138 114 93 128 129 129 123 131 193 139 160 54 105

Bisexual 0 2 0 4 2 2 4 4 5 2 3 8 7 7 9 10 8 5 8 14 12 14 26 74 127 50 178

No Data Available 3 19 370 Homosexual 0 1 4 3 4 6 8 15 5 16 20 21 30 25 36 30 17 32 46 40 26 47 81 107 215 58 277

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW)

In 2010, there were 61 HIV positive OFWs, comprising 9% of cases reported for the year [Figure 9]. Of these, 50 (82%)
were males and 11 (18%) females; all infected through sexual contact.
There were 1,410 HIV positive OFWs since 1984, comprising 50% of all reported cases [Figure 9]. Seventy-five percent
(1,050) were males. Ages ranged from 18 to 69 years (median 36 years). Sexual contact (96%) was the predominant
mode of transmission (Table 3). Eighty-one percent (1,144) were asymptomatic while 19% (266) were AIDS cases.

Table 3. Reported Mode of HIV Transmission Among OFWs Figure 9. Number of OFWs Compared to Non-OFWs by Year (1984-2010*)
700
Mode of Transmission May 2010 Jan-May 2010 Cumulative
n= 20 n= 61 N=1,410 600

Sexual Transmission 20 61 1,348 500

Number of Cases

Heterosexual contact 7 (35%) 26 (41%) 956 (71%) 400

Homosexual contact 7 (35%) 19 (31%) 244 (18%) 300

Bisexual contact 6 (30%) 16 (28%) 148 (11%) 200

Blood/Blood Products 0 0 10 100

Injecting Drug Use 0 0 1 0

'84 '85 '86 '87 '88 '89 '90 '91 '92 '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 '98 '99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10*

Needle Prick Injury 0 0 3 OFW 1 2 0 3 9 5 10 7 14 29 31 24 35 27 51 67 60 79 96 94 87 94 130 106 123 164 61

Non-OFW 1 8 29 35 23 34 56 78 58 73 87 92 119 90 138 91 63 95 88 99 112 116 179 232 405 671 639
No Data Available 0 0 48 % of OFW 50% 20% 0% 8% 28% 13% 15% 8% 19% 28% 26% 21% 23% 23% 27% 42% 49% 45% 52% 49% 44% 45% 42% 31% 23% 20% 9%

* Data includes January to May 2010 only.

3
 Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry May 2010

Program Related Information

Of the 153 HIV cases reported in May 2010, all cases were asymptomatic. Fifty percent of the cases received information
on HIV prevention, services available for HIV cases, implications of an HIV positive result from screening and confirma-
tion. Their sources of information were one-on-one counseling, group counseling, pre-departure orientation seminar
(PDOS), pamphlets, videos, internet and seminars.

Blood Units Screened for HIV

Note: The following information is from the National Voluntary Blood Safety Program (NVBSP) which monitors blood safety of
donated blood. HIV reactive blood units are referred to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) for confirmation.
RITM is the National Reference Laboratory for the NVBSP.

From January to May 2010, 60 blood units were confirmed to be posi- Table 4. Results of Blood Units Referred for HIV Confirmation
tive by the RITM.
Monthly Report 2010
For May 2010, out of the 43 blood units referred for HIV confirmation, Blood units* Positive Indeterminate
9 units were positive for HIV, and 34 units were negative for HIV referred

[Table 4]. January 52 9 1

February 89 12 3

Figure 10. HIV Positive Blood Units by Month & Year (2008-2010) March 72 15 1

April 79 15 5
20
May 43 9 0

June - - -
Number of Positive Blood Units

15
July - - -

August - - -
10 September - - -

October - - -

5
November - - -

December - - -
Total for the year
335 60 10
0 (Jan –May only)
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total

2008 10 7 4 8 8 2 9 6 7 7 4 2 74 * One blood donor can donate more than one blood unit.
2009 5 5 10 10 7 5 7 7 9 12 3 9 89 ** These are HIV positive blood units, not donors. Donors of HIV positive blood units
2010 9 12 15 15 9 66 may or may not be in the HIV & AIDS Registry.

National HIV/AIDS & STI Philippine HIV & AIDS Registry

Strategic Information and
Surveillance Unit The Philippine HIV & AIDS Registry is the official record of the total number of
laboratory-confirmed HIV positive individuals, AIDS cases and deaths, and HIV
positive blood units in the Philippines. All individuals in the registry are confirmed
by the STD/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory (SACCL) at San Lazaro Hospital.
National Epidemiology Center, While all blood units are confirmed by the Research Institute for Tropical
Department of Health, Bldg. 9, Medicine (RITM). Both are National Reference Laboratories (NRL) of the
San Lazaro Compound, Department of Health (DOH).
Sta. Cruz, Manila 1003 Philippines
Mandatory HIV testing is unlawful in the Philippines (RA 8504). The process of
Tel: +632 743 8301 local 1900 to 1907 reporting to the Registry is as follows: All blood samples from accredited HIV
Fax: +632 743 6076 / 743 1937 testing facilities that are screened HIV reactive are sent to SACCL (individuals)
Email: HIVepicenter@gmail.com or RITM (blood units) for confirmation. Confirmed HIV positive individuals and
Website: http://www.doh.gov.ph blood units are reported to the DOH-National Epidemiology Center (NEC), and are
recorded in the Registry.

The Registry is a passive surveillance system. Except for HIV confirmation by the
NRL, all other data submitted to the Registry are secondary and cannot be veri-
fied. An example would be an individual’s reported place of residence. The
Registry is unable to determine if this reported address is where the person got
infected, or where the person lived after being infected, or where the person is
presently living, or whether the address is valid. This limitation has major implica-
tions to data interpretation. Thus, readers are cautioned to carefully weigh the
data and consider other sources of information prior to arriving at conclusions.