PERSONS

LIVING WITH
HIV AIDS
– Since the start of the AIDS epidemic, more than 78
million people have been infected with HIV and 39
million have died.
– Acquiring HIV no longer means certain death. A person
on HIV treatment in a high-income setting now has
nearly the same life expectancy as a person who does
not have the virus.
– However, only two out of five people living with HIV have
access to antiretroviral therapy. Among people who do have
access, great inequities exist.
– People living with HIV are being left behind because they are
not benefitting from health care, employment, education or
social protection. This is often due to stigma, discrimination,
prohibitive laws and policies or a lack of services.
I am a person living with HIV.
I face these issues.
 HIV Testing in the Philippines

– The Department of Health now ranks Philippines as one of the countries that
has the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world with a prevalence rate of 5%
nationwide. There is a 20-25% prevalence rate in Metro Manila and 15-20%
prevalence rate in Cebu. This rate dwarfed the prevalence rate in South Africa,
which has the largest population of HIV positive individuals in the world, with a
mere 4.7%. Prevalence rate refers to the percentage of individual affected by
the disease at specific time. With that in mind, in a population of 110 Million
Filipinos, there are 5.5 Million individuals currently living with HIV.
– It is estimated that there are 1,000 reported HIV cases per month since the
6 months of 2016.
– At that rate, there are 30 to 50 reported HIV cases daily. This does not
include unreported cases. Unreported cases are HIV positive individuals
who do not know they are infected. The epidemic growth rate is about
200% per year. This means that if not controlled, we could see a tenfold
growth of HIV cases (300-500 cases per day) within the next 10 years.

– – DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
 How Is HIV Transmitted?
– You can only get HIV by coming into direct contact with certain body fluids from a person with HIV
who has a detectable viral load. These fluids are:

– Blood
– Semen (cum) and pre-seminal fluid
– Rectal fluids
– Vaginal fluids
– Breast milk
– For transmission to occur, the HIV in these fluids must get into the bloodstream of an HIV-negative
person through a mucous membrane (found in the rectum, vagina, mouth, or tip of the penis); open
cuts or sores; or by direct injection.

– People with HIV who take HIV medicine daily as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral
load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting HIV to their HIV-negative partners.
 How Is HIV Spread from Person to
Person?
– HIV can only be spread through specific activities. In the United States, the most
common ways are:

– Having vaginal or anal sex with someone who has HIV without using a condom
or taking medicines to prevent or treat HIV. Anal sex is riskier than vaginal sex.
– Sharing injection drug equipment (“works”), such as needles, with someone
who has HIV.
 Ways HIV Cannot Be Spread
– HIV is not spread by:

– Air or water
– Mosquitoes, ticks or other insects
– Saliva, tears, or sweat that is not mixed with the blood of a person with HIV
– Shaking hands; hugging; sharing toilets; sharing dishes, silverware, or drinking glasses;
or engaging in closed-mouth or “social” kissing with a person with HIV
– Drinking fountains
– Other sexual activities that don’t involve the exchange of body fluids (for example,
touching).
– HIV can’t be passed through healthy, unbroken skin.
 How Do You Get AIDS?
– You can’t “catch” AIDS.

– AIDS is the most advanced stage of HIV infection. If you have HIV and you are
not on HIV treatment, eventually your body’s immune system will weaken and
you will progress to AIDS.

– People with AIDS have such badly damaged immune systems that they get a
number of severe illnesses, called opportunistic infections.
 HOW TO GET TESTED: HIV TESTING IN THE
PHILIPPINES

– One of the most important thing to do to prevent

transmission is knowing your status. HIV is a very
controllable disease as long as it is detected early and has
not yet done major damage to your organs most specially
the Liver, Kidneys and the Brain. There are many ways of
getting tested for HIV in the Philippines. We will discuss each
of them, one by one including their advantages and
disadvantages.
I. Hospitals

– Testing by going to hospitals is one of the most common means of getting

tested. There are 5 hospitals in our country that specializes with HIV counseling
and testing as well as referrals in case you tested positive and needing further
treatment. In no particular order: RITM, San Lazaro Hospital, St. Lukes Medical
Center both in Quezon City and Global, Makati Medical Center and Medical City
in Ortigas. Do take note that the cost for HIV testing is around 1,100 to 3,800 in
the private hospitals.
II. Free tests done by Volunteer
groups
III. HIV testing kits
 I TESTED POSITIVE. WHAT
SHOULD I DO NEXT?
– If you used any of the recommendations above in getting
tested and you tested positive, DO NOT DESPAIR. HIV is a
very controllable disease and achievement of
undetectable viral load is the treatment goal. Living a
normal life is very possible with HIV as long as treatment
is started and adherence to the treatment regimen is
established. There are 2 options in getting treated.
 Research Institute for Tropical
Medicine (RITM)
– is the premiere and the leading facility in The Philippines when it
comes to antiretroviral drug distribution as well as treatment for
HIV patients. This should be your first choice in obtaining
confirmatory results and further treatment if the initial testing
result was positive. RITM is more specialized than San Lazaro and
could deal with serious HIV related complications such as
Mycobacterium Bovis infection as well as cryptococcal infection of
the brain.