By
LINETTE RAMOS CANTALEJO
A SEVEN-MONTH-OLD baby boy is the youngest patient seeking treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), along with a two-year-old boy, a nine-year-old girl, and a 16-year-old boy.
They join 680 other individuals living with HIV, including men who have sex with men, commercial sex workers and people who inject drugs, who visit the government hospital regularly for free medication.
On the observance of World AIDS Day yesterday, officials of the Department of Health (DOH) 7 and the Cebu City Health Department (CHD) highlighted the importance of regular HIV testing among vulnerable individuals so they can be treated immediately and reduce the chance of passing on the infection to their partners and unborn child.
Dr. Ilya Tac-an, head of the CHD’s Social Hygiene Clinic, said early detection is crucial in preventing the spread of HIV in Central Visayas, which now ranks third among regions with the highest number of persons with HIV. In terms of prevalence rate, the region ranks first, she said.
In Cebu City alone, 344 individuals were diagnosed with HIV so far this year, bringing to 1,720 the total number of HIV and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (Aids) cases recorded by the CHD from 1989 to November this year.
Act quickly
Of the 1,720, only 680 are enrolled in the treatment program.
To keep the number from increasing, VSMMC and the CHD give free HIV screening and antiretroviral drugs to individuals admitted to the government’s antiretroviral treatment program.
“It’s very important for a person to seek treatment immediately after he or she is diagnosed with HIV so we can control the virus na mugamay siya so there is a lesser chance to get sick and a lesser chance to pass on the infection to others,” said Dr. Chamberlaine Agtuca Jr., a member of the VSMMC HIV/Aids Core Team.
“This is a lifetime medication and if a patient stops taking the medicines, mugrabe na sad ang HIV infection (the infection will worsen),” he said.
Agtuca said there is a high success rate for their patients who are on medication. Of the 684 patients diagnosed with HIV, less than 10 percent have advanced to Aids, most of whom were diagnosed late.
He said pregnant women with risky sexual behavior should get tested and seek treatment immediately, as this brings down by 96 percent the chance of passing on the virus to the child.
Protection
In VSMMC, 41 mothers who were diagnosed and treated during pregnancy gave birth to children who all tested negative of HIV.
“As for the four children with HIV, they are doing well under medication and they are healthy, but that doesn’t mean they no longer have HIV. The moment they stop taking the medication, infection will worsen,” he said.
During the Association of Government Information Officers (AGIO) forum at the DOH 7 yesterday, Agtuca said the number of patients in VSMMC’s treatment center has been increasing.
In 2011, there would only be one to two new diagnoses a month and 14 to 20 consultations.
This year, there are some 35 new diagnoses and 350 to 375 consultations per month.
Of the 684 being treated, 94 percent are male and only six percent are female.
In Cebu City, Tac-an said that based on their surveillance of a sample of 450 individuals with HIV, 44 percent are people who inject drugs. Some 51 percent are men having sex with men and only about five percent are commercial sex workers.
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