I.

Newly Diagnosed HIV Cases in the Philippines

The regions with the highest number of reported cases for September 2015
were: NCR with 270 (39%) cases, Region 4A with 128 (18%) cases, Region 3 with 60
(9%) cases, Region 7 with 60 (9%) cases, and Region 11 with 38 (5%) cases. One
hundred thirty six (20%) cases came from the rest of the country.
II. Demographic Characteristics

The first case of HIV infection in the Philippines was reported in 1984. From
January 1984 to September 2015, there has been 28,428 HIV Ab sero-positive cases
reported to the HARP. Ninety-two percent (26,015) of the total reported cases were
asymptomatic at the time of reporting. Most (26,066 or 92%) were male. The
median age was 28 years old (age range: 1 year-82 years). More than half (14,458
or 51%) were from the 25-34 year age group while 7,536 (27%) were youth aged

15-24 years old. Eighty-four percent (24,004) of all the 28,428 diagnosed cases in
the Philippines were reported in the past five years, from January 2010 to
September 2015 (Table 1). Most (93%) of these cases were still asymptomatic at the
time of reporting. In the early years of the epidemic (1984-1990), 62% (133 of 216
cases) were female. Beginning in 1991, more males were reported to be infected
with HIV in the Philippines (Figure 5). From 2010 to 2015, males comprised 95%
(22,835) of the reported 24,004 cases. The age group with the biggest proportion of
cases has become younger: from 2000 to 2004, it was 30-39 years; from 2005 to
2009, it was 25-34 years; and from 2010 to 2015, it was 20-29 years (Figure 4).
Notably, the proportion of PLHIV in the 15-24 year age group increased from 20% in
2005-2009 to 28% in 2010-2015.

III. Modes of Transmission

From January 1984 to September 2015, MSM was the predominant (20,924 or
80%) mode of transmission among males, followed by male-female sex (3,614 or
14%), and sharing of needles (1,191 or 5%). More than half (54% or 11,213) of
cases among MSM belonged to the 25-34 year age group while 6,160 (29%) were
youth 15-24 years old. Among females, male-female sex was the most common
MOT (2,141 or 91%) followed by sharing of needles (80 or 3%). A total of 76
children (less than 10 years old) and 4 adolescents were reported to have acquired
HIV through mother-to-child transmission, while 20 people were infected through
blood transfusion.
From January 2010 to September 2015, 84% (19,143) of infections through
sexual contact were among MSM. From 2005 to 2009, MSM comprised 60% (1,279)
of sexual transmissions. Fifty-four percent (10,368) of the MSM cases from 2010 to
2015 were among the 25-34 years age group while 5,777 (30%) were among youth
aged 15-24 years old. Meanwhile, cases among IDU also increased from <1% in
2005 to 2009 to 5% within the past five years.

Different modes of transmission are predominant in different regions. Half of

the MSM ever reported were from NCR; 99% of the IDUs were from Region 7; and
48% of females who engaged in transactional sex were from Region 3.

IV. Geographic Distribution

From January 1984 to September 2015, the regions with the most number of
reported cases were NCR with 12,404 (44%) cases, Region 4A with 3,829 (13%)
cases, Region 7 with 2,539 (9%) cases, Region 3 with 2,334 (8%) cases, and Region
11 with 1,664 (6%) cases. Sixteen percent (4,512) of the cases came from the rest
of the country (ROTC) while 1,146 (4%) had no data on region.
Of the 2,351 females reported with HIV, 577 (25%) were from NCR, 419
(18%) were from Region 3, 246 (10%) were from Region 7, 204 (9%) were from
Region 4A and 905 (38%) were from other regions.
The regions with the most number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW)
reported to the HARP were NCR with 1,393 cases, Region 4A with 628 cases, Region
3 with 387 cases, and Region 6 with 197 cases.
V. AIDS Cases

As of April 2015, the Department of Health (DOH) AIDS Registry in the

Philippines reported 24,936 cumulative cases.[citation needed] In the month of
April, 560 new cases were reported showing a 42% increase compared to the same
period in the previous year.In the year 2014, a total of 6,011 cases of HIV were
reported with 91% of the cases being asymptomatic at the time of reporting while
543 cases were diagnosed as AIDS. From 2001 to 2015 the number of cases
diagnosed per year increased 37 times, from 174 cases diagnosed in 2001 to 6,552
for the first 10 months on 2015.

In the years 2010 to 2015, 91% (22,726) of cases were men with a median
age of 28 years, with over half (12,616) in the 25-34 age group.[citation needed]
26% (6,529) of men were 1524 years of age, an increase from 12% in 2005-2009.
Since the year 2000, the high-prevalence age group has changed from the 30-39
year old age group being the most affected from years 2000-2004, to the 25-34 age
group from years 2005 to 2009, and to 20-29 age group from years 2010-2015.
The infection rate among men having sex with men has multiplied 10 times
from 2010 to 2015.[4] The Department of Health reported in November 2015, that
the rate of prevalence has surpassed 5%, the UN's definition of concentrated
epidemic, in eight cities Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Puerto Princesa, Davao, Quezon
City, Paraaque and Makati, with Cebu reaching 14%.
Between 1984 and 1990, 62% (133 of 216) of cases were female. From 2010
to 2015, females only comprised 5% (1017) of the 20,512 reported cases.
From January 2010 to April 2015, 82% (20,512) of all cases were reported. At
the time of reporting, 93% of these cases were still asymptomatic.
VI. Deaths among People with HIV

The Department of Health (DOH) established a separate reporting

mechanism for deaths in 2012. Prior to this, deaths were infrequently reported to
the HIV/AIDS Registry. It is likely that the number reflected here is an underestimate
of the total number of deaths among people with HIV in the Philippines. For the
month of September 2015, there were 13 reported deaths. Twelve were male while
1 was female (Table 5). Almost half (46%) of the reported deaths belong to the 2534 year age group while 2 were youth aged 15-24 year age group. All were infected
through sexual contact (3 male-female sex, 7 male-male sex, 3 sex with both males
& females).
A total of 1,309 deaths were reported from January 1984 to September 2015.
Eighty-five percent (1,108) were male (Table 5). Of the reported deaths, 16 (1%)
were children less than 10 years old and 13 (1%) were adolescents aged 10-19
years old. Almost half (605 or 46%) belong to 25-34 year age group, 392 (30%)
were in 35-49 year age group, while 164 (13%) were youth aged 15-24 years old.
Sexual contact (94%) was the most common mode of HIV transmission (378 malefemale sex, 558 male-male sex, 292 sex with both males & females). There were 24
reported deaths among IDU.