There are at least 12 new cases of HIV in the Philippines, and the age range of victims are getting younger and younger, according to the University of Philippines Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH).
In an ABS CBN report, Dr. Edsel Salvana, UP PGH Associate Professor disclosed that there are some 1,000 new cases of HIV in 2013 and a significant number of these are aged 20- 29 years old. He expressed alarm over the increase in the number of cases, saying that they started with only 50 active patients several years ago and the numbers have jumped to over 600 positive cases of HIV.
More importantly, he said that the HIV positive individuals are no longer the stereotyped seafarers or commercial sex workers. Rather, they are college students and young professionals. The medical expert attributed the situation to casual sex and non-use of condoms.
