Philippines: HIV cases in 2013 up a third compared to 2012
Assistant Secretary of Health in Philippines, Dr. Eric Tayag tweeted Friday that the number of new HIV cases reported in November was 384 and the total so far for the year is 4,456.
Image/CIA
In 2012, more than 3,300 Filipinos tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) making the total new cases in 2013, approxiamately a 30 percent increase.
The Philippines is one of a handful of countries that still see increases in the viral infection.
Tayag notes that since 1984, the country has reported a total of 16,158 HIV positive cases.
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According to the World Health Organization, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) targets the immune system and weakens people’s surveillance and defense systems against infections and some types of cancer. As the virus destroys and impairs the function of immune cells, infected individuals gradually become immunodeficient. Immune function is typically measured by CD4 cell count. Immunodeficiency results in increased susceptibility to a wide range of infections and diseases that people with healthy immune systems can fight off.
The most advanced stage of HIV infection is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which can take from 2 to 15 years to develop depending on the individual. AIDS is defined by the development of certain cancers, infections, or other severe clinical manifestations.
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