For the first time since HIV/AIDS invaded the global consciousness in the 80s, the Philippines is in the limelight for having one of the fastest rising instances in the world. The Special Report: State of the Philippine HIV Epidemic 2016, published by the Department of Health and the Epidemiology Bureau, and taken up at a recent forum at the Manila Med Hospital, and presided over by Dr. Rontgene Solante, Internal Medicine-Infectious Disease, estimates that currently, 56,000 Filipinos are living with HIV. If unchecked, the study projects that by 2022, this number will balloon to 142,000.
An unwelcome throwback
Few remember that at the start of the AIDS epidemic, it was considered a “gay” disease. The much publicized deaths of Superstar entertainers such as Freddie Mercury and Liberace supported that thinking. One time Hollywood heartthrob Rock Hudson’s revelation that he had AIDS was accompanied by the revelation that he was in fact gay. Now, over thirty years after Rock Hudson’s death in 1985, HIV/AIDS epidemic figures from the last five years show a marked increase in instances involving those who practice man on man sexual intercourse.
Between 2007 to 2016, fully 49% of all HIV positive cases were men who habitually engaged in homosexual sex with either men or transgender women. In sharp contrast, between 1984 and 2007 at the height of AIDS as a “gay” disease awareness, a mere 19% of HIV cases were from man on man sexual activities. Perhaps most alarmingly, between 2013 to 2015, 68% of all diagnosed cases of HIV were homosexual men between the ages of 15 to 24.
Awareness or lack of awareness
While there is the school of thought that HIV numbers in the Philippines are on the rise because more people know about AIDS and thus submit themselves for testing. The study estimates that only 32% of HIV cases go undiagnosed. The fact that diagnosed instances are highly concentrated among homosexuals who hadn’t been born when HIV was wrongly perceived as a gender specific disease, shows that as a nation, we are not doing enough to address the HIV epidemic in the easiest, and most practical way: education.
Addressing Behavior
Currently, HIV/AIDS is on the rise due to common sexual practices among homosexual men. Homosexual men perform anal sex, this act is proven more risky than vaginal sex, homosexual men typically have multiple partners and multiple sexual encounters, and finally, because it is utilized primarily to prevent pregnancy, homosexual men don’t use condoms.
Assuming the two first two practices cannot or will not be curbed, the study indicates that use of condoms will greatly reduce the instances of HIV/AIDS. Finally, it is of utmost importance that anybody who practices high-risk behavior such as homosexual sex, homosexual or heterosexual sex with multiple partners, or unprotected sex, should submit themselves for testing every six months.
The Silver Lining
Testing every six months for those who practice high-risk behavior is essential because although it remains incurable, when detected early HIV can be managed very effectively through anti retro viral therapy. The good news is that both the testing and the treatment are free at government hospitals.
Ultimately though, HIV is a very behavior centric disease, if we avoid certain behavior we are reasonably sure we can avoid contracting or spreading it. Recent numbers indicate that we need to be teaching our children about this disease early. As uncomfortable or taboo as that conversation is, it can quite literally save lives. To learn more about HIV and AIDS, and other diseases or ailments that affect the lives of city dwellers, go to http://manilamed.com.ph/articles/.