DATA from the Department of Health (DOH) has shown sexual intercourse as the dominant mode of transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among adolescents aged 10 to 19 years old who were diagnosed in January 2023.
The DOH’s January 2023 HIV/AIDS Registry of the Philippines (HARP) showed that for the month of January, 79 adolescents and seven children 10 years and younger tested positive for HIV.
Among adolescents, all but one, which had no data on the mode of transmission, acquired HIV through sexual contact.
Breaking down the 78 HIV acquired by adolescents through sexual contact, 65 were male-to-male sex, eight (8) through sex with both males and females, and five (5) through male-to-female sex.
Six of the HIV cases among children were due to vertical transmission, or mother-to-child transmission, while the remaining one had no data on the mode of transmission.
The DOH has earlier reported there were 1,454 new HIV cases for January 2023, or an average of 46 new cases per day. — Gerard Naval
