DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH APRIL 2011

NATIONAL EPIDEMIOLOGY CENTER

Newly Diagnosed HIV Cases in the Philippines

In April 2011, there were 171 new HIV Ab sero-positive Table 1. Quick Facts
individuals confirmed by the STD/AIDS Cooperative Demographic Data Apr Jan-Apr Cumulative Data:
2011 2011 1984—2011
Central Laboratory (SACCL) and reported to the HIV
Total Reported Cases 6,669
Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry

171 654
and AIDS Registry (Table 1). This was a 11% increase
Asymptomatic Cases 168 644 5,802
compared to the same period last year (n=154 in 2010)
AIDS Cases 3 10 867
[Figure 1].
Males 165 608 5,307*
Most of the cases (96%) were males. The median age Females 6 46 1,351*
was 27 years (age range:17-60 years). The 20-29 year Youth 15-24yo 46 180 1,393
Children <15yo 0 2 57
(64%) age-group had the most number of cases. Fifty-
Reported Deaths due to AIDS 0 1 324
five percent (94) of the reported cases were from the
National Capital Region (NCR). *Note: No data available on sex for eleven (11) cases.

Reported mode of transmission was sexual contact Figure 1. Number of New HIV Cases per Month (2008-2011)
(165) and re-using needles among injecting drug users 175

(4). Two did not report mode of transmission [Table 2,

150
125
page 3]. Males having sex with other Males (87%) were 100
the predominant type of sexual transmission [Figure 2]. 75

Most (98%) of the cases were still asymptomatic at the 50

time of reporting [Figure 3].

25
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

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

2010 143 130 120 154 153 109 131 108 153 104 112 174
Of the 171 HIV positive cases, three were reported as 2011 152 159 172 171

AIDS cases. All were males. The median age was 44

years (age range: 36-59 years old). All acquired the Figure 2. Comparison of the Proportion of Types of Sexual
infection through homosexual contact. There was no Transmission in 2011, 2010 & Cumulative Data (1984-2011)
reported death for this month. 100% Het erosexual
90% 22 22 Bisexual

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) 80%

2601
Homosexual

70% 52
43
Eleven of the 171 (6%) reported cases were OFWs 60%

[Figure 9, page 3]. All were males. The median age was 50%
1283
31 years (age range: 24-40 years). All cases acquired
40%

the infection through sexual contact (4 heterosexual, 2

30%
91 62
20%
2154
homosexual, and 5 bisexual). 10%

0%
A p r i l 2 0 11 A p r i l 2 0 10 C umul at i ve

Figure 3. Number of HIV/AIDS Cases Reported in the Philippines by Year, Jan 1984 to April 2011 (N=6,669)

1650

1500

1350

1200

1050

900

750

600

450

300

150

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 '11

T OT A L 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 1591 654

A s y mpt omat i c 0 6 18 25 21 29 48 68 51 64 61 65 104 94 144 80 83 118 140 139 161 171 273 312 506 806 1571 644

A I DS 2 4 11 13 11 10 18 17 21 38 57 51 50 23 45 78 40 56 44 54 38 39 36 30 22 29 20 10

Deat h 2 4 10 12 9 8 15 13 13 11 19 24 27 10 16 17 9 20 11 11 8 16 18 10 *7 1 2 1

*Five initially asymptomatic cases reported in 2008, died due to AIDS that same year. 1
Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry April 2011

AIDS Cases (1984-2011) Fig 4. Proportion of Modes of Transmission of AIDS Cases by Year,
Jan 1984—April 2011
Of the 654 HIV positive cases in 2011, ten were reported as
AIDS cases. Ninety percent were males. Ages ranged from
100%

22-59 years (median 36 years). All acquired the infection

through sexual contact [heterosexual (2), homosexual (6), and 75%

bisexual contact (2)].

Proportion of Cases
From 1984 to 2011, there were 867 AIDS cases reported, 71% 50%

(619) were males. Median age was 35 years (range 1-72

years). Of the AIDS cases, there were 324 (37%) deaths 25%

during the reported period. Sexual contact was the most

common mode of HIV transmission, accounting for 93% (806)
of all AIDS cases. More than half (450) of sexual transmission 0%
1984- 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

was through heterosexual contact, followed by homosexual Needle Prick 2 0 0 0 0

contact (278) then bisexual contact (78). Other modes of Blood Trans fusion 10 0 0 0 0

transmission include: mother-to-child transmission (17), blood

MTCT 16 0 1 0 0

IDU 3 1 0 0 0

transfusion (10), injecting drug use (4), and needle prick Bisex ual Contac t 60 4 8 4 2

injuries (2) [Figure 4]. Three percent (28) of the AIDS cases Homos exual Contac t 234 10 14 14 6

did not report mode of HIV transmission.

Heter osex ual Contac t 433 7 6 2 2

*Note: 28 did not report mode of transmission

Demographic Characteristics (1984-2011)

In 2011, there were a total of 654 cases reported. 93% of Figure 5. Proportion of Sex & Age-Groups in Feb 2011 & Jan-April 2011
the cases reported were males (608). Ages ranged from 1-61 100%

years old (median 28 years). The 20-29 year old age group
(61%) had the most number of cases for 2011. For the male 75%

age group, the most number of cases were found among the
20-24 years old (27%), 25-29 years old (35%) and 30-34 50%
Proportion of Cases

years old (19%) [Figure 5].

From 1984 to 2011, there were 6,669 HIV Ab sero-positive 25%

cases reported (Table 1), of which 5,802 (87%) were

asymptomatic and 867 (13%) were AIDS cases. As shown in 0%
A pr i l 2011 (M ) A pr i l 2011 (F) 2011 (M al e) 2011 (Femal e)

Figure 6, there is a significant difference in the number of 50 & ol der 5 0 14 1

male and female cases reported. Eighty percent (5,307) were 35-49y o 23 1 95 14

males. Ages ranged from 1-73 years (median 30 years). The 25-34y o 91 5 325 23

age groups with the most number of cases were: 20-24 years
15-24y o 46 0 174 6

1-14y o 0 0 0 2

(19%), 25-29 (26%) and 30-34 years (19%) [Figure 6].

Figure 6. Comparison of the Distribution of Male and Female HIV Cases by Age-Group and Certain Highlighted Years
50 & o lder 1984-2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
45-49yo

40-44yo

35-39yo

30-34yo

25-29yo

20-24yo

15-19yo
Number of Male Cases <15yo Number of Female Cases
1500 1250 1000 750 500 250 0 0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500

<15y o 15-19y o 20-24y o 25-29y o 30-34yo 35-39yo 40-44y o 45-49y o 50 & ol der <15y o 15-19yo 20-24y o 25-29y o 30- 34y o 35-39y o 40-44y o 45- 49y o 50 & ol der

2011 0 12 162 212 113 50 33 12 14 2011 2 0 6 17 6 3 6 5 1

2010 1 50 406 454 256 128 81 43 48 2010 2 5 28 21 34 15 9 6 4

2009 1 22 179 227 124 90 41 19 29 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

1984-2006 21 14 121 300 360 321 249 170 157 1984-2006 18 33 187 209 190 140 84 30 41

2
 Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry April 2011

Modes of Transmission (1984-2011)

In 2011, 97% (632) were infected through sexual contact, Figure 7. Proportion of Modes of HIV Transmission by Age-Group, 2011(n=654)
1% (4) through needle sharing among injecting drug 400
users, <1% (2) through mother-to-child transmission and
350
<1% (1) through blood transfusion; 2% (15) had no re-
ported data on mode of transmission (Table 2). There 300

were 589 males and 43 females infected through sexual 250

Number of Cases
transmission. The age range of those infected through 200

sexual transmission was 15-61 years old (median 27 150

years). There were 4 males who were infected through 100

sharing of unclean needles. Their ages range from 19-30
50
years old (median 21 years) [Figure 7].
0
<7yo 7-14yo 15-17yo 18-24yo 25-34yo 35-49yo 50&older
Of the 6,669 with HIV from 1984 to 2011, 91% (6,038) - - - - 1 -
Blood Transfusion - Female
were infected through sexual contact, 1% (54) through Maternal to Child 2 - - - - - -
mother-to-child transmission and 2% (159) through nee- Injecting Drug Use - Female - - - - - - -
dle sharing among injecting drug users. Other modes of Injecting Drug Use - Male - - - 3 1 - -

transmission are listed in Table 2. No data is available for Heterosexual Contact - Female - - - 6 23 13 1

6% (395) of the cases. Cumulative data shows 43% Heterosexual Contact - Male - - - 8 38 21 6

(2,601) were infected through heterosexual contact, 36% Bisexual Contact - - - 52 128 30 1

Homosexual Contact - - 3 106 151 39 6

(2,154) through homosexual contact, and 21% (1,283)
*No data available on Modes of Transmission for fifteen (15) cases
through bisexual contact. From 2007 there has been a
shift in the predominant trend of sexual transmission from Figure 8. Proportion of Types of Sexual Transmission, Jan 1984—April 2011
heterosexual contact (25%) to males having sex with
other males (75%) [Figure 8].
100%

90%

Table 2. Reported Mode of HIV Transmission 80%

Mode of Transmission Apr 2011 Jan—Apr 2011 Cumulative 70%

n=171 n=654 N=6,669

Proportion of Cases

60%

Sexual Contact 165 632 6,038 50%

Heterosexual contact 22 (13%) 116 (18%) 2,601 (43%) 40%

Homosexual contact 91 (55%) 305 (48%) 2,154 (36%) 30%

Bisexual contact 1,283 (21%)

20%
52 (32%) 211 (33%)
10%
Blood/Blood Products 0 1 20
0%
Injecting Drug Use 4 4 159 '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 '11

Needle Prick Injury 0 0 3 Het er os ex ual 1 7 24 24 16 19 35 30 41 47 58 56 81 82 138 114 93 128 129 129 123 131 193 139 160 216 271 116

Mother-to-Child 0 2 54 B i s ex ual 0 2 0 4 2 2 4 4 5 2 3 8 7 7 9 10 8 5 8 14 12 14 26 74 127 252 463 211

No Data Available 2 15 395 Homos ex ual 0 1 4 3 4 6 8 15 5 16 20 21 30 25 36 30 17 32 46 40 27 47 81 107 215 336 677 305

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW)

In 2011, there were 74 HIV positive OFWs, comprising 11% of cases reported for the year [Figure 9]. Of these, 65
(88%) were males and 9 (12%) were females; all infected through sexual contact.
There were 1,596 HIV positive OFWs since 1984, comprising 24% of all reported cases [Figure 9]. Seventy-six percent
(1,210) were males. Ages ranged from 18 to 69 years (median 36 years). Sexual contact (96%) was the predominant
mode of transmission (Table 3). Eighty-three percent (1,329) were asymptomatic while 17% (267) were AIDS cases.

Table 3. Reported Mode of HIV Transmission Among OFWs Figure 9. Number of OFWs Compared to Non-OFWs by Year (1984-2011*)
1400
Mode of Transmission Apr 2011 Jan– Apr 2011 Cumulative
n= 11 n= 74 N=1,596 1200

Sexual Transmission 11 74 1,534

Number of Cases

1000

Heterosexual contact 4 (36%) 28 (38%) 1,029 (67%) 800

Homosexual contact 2 (18%) 22 (30%) 300 (20%) 600

Bisexual contact 5 (46%) 24 (32%) 205 (13%) 400

200
Blood/Blood Products 0 0 10
0
Injecting Drug Use 0 0 1 '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 '11*

Needle Prick Injury 0 0 3 1 2 0 3 9 5 10 7 14 29 31 24 35 27 51 67 60 79 96 94 88 94 130 106 122 164 174 74

OFW

No Data Available 0 0 48 Non-OFW 1 8 29 35 23 34 56 78 58 73 87 92 119 90 138 91 63 95 88 99 111 116 179 236 406 671 1417 580

% 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% 11% 11%

*Data includes January to April 2011 only.

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 Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry April 2011

Program Related Information

Of the 171 HIV positive cases reported in April 2011, three were classified as AIDS. Seventy-six percent of the cases
received information on HIV prevention, services available for HIV cases, implications of an HIV positive result from
screening and confirmation. 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 April 2011, 60 blood units were confirmed to be

positive for HIV by the RITM. Table 4. Results of Blood Units Referred for HIV Confirmation

For April 2011, out of the 74 blood units referred for HIV confirmation, Monthly Report 2011
20 units were positive for HIV and 53 units were negative for HIV; Blood units* Positive Indeterminate
referred
1 unit had an indeterminate result [Table 4].
January 85 11 0
February 67 15 2

Figure 10. HIV Positive Blood Units by Month & Year (2008-2011) March 76 14 1

25 April 74 20 1
May
20 June
July
15
August
September
10
October

5 November
December
0
J an Feb M ar A pr M ay J un Jul A ug Sep Oc t Nov Dec T ot al Total for the year
302 60 4
10 7 4 8 8 2 9 6 7 7 4 2 74
(Jan –April only)
2008

2009 5 5 10 10 7 5 7 7 9 12 3 9 89 * One blood donor can donate more than one blood unit.
2010 9 12 15 15 9 17 11 6 10 20 11 11 146 ** These are HIV positive blood units, not donors. Donors of HIV positive blood units
2011 11 15 14 20 60 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. 19, 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: +632 651-7800 local 2926, 2952 reporting to the Registry is as follows: All blood samples from accredited HIV
Fax: +632 495-0513/743 6076 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.