BAGUIO CITY -- A staunch advocate of efforts against the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) said early detection and education are the keys to stumping the deadly virus and preventing a possible occurrence of a national HIV epidemic.
Dr. Edsel Maurice Salvaña, director of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the Philippine National Institutes of Health, said this at the celebration of the 12th Philippine National Health Research System week here.
He said curing HIV at an early stage would prevent the infection's spread and escalation into a full-blown AIDS.
“Early diagnosis and placing them for treatment is the best way to interrupt the increasing number of cases of HIV,” he said.
He said unprotected sex and having multiple partners raise the risk of contracting the dreaded disease.
"If you engage in unprotected sex or if you have multiple partners, I suggest you have yourselves checked for you and your partner’s safety," he said.
Salvaña also emphasized the big role that the academe plays in raising awareness on the importance of sex education.
“From a public health point of view, the most efficient and cost-effective way of interrupting cases is through education,” he told those present at the event.
Salvaña said 40 percent of HIV cases are “men having sex with men” (MSM) or bisexuals, many of whom are unaware of the risks of such exploits.
In the Philippines, he said about 80 percent of the HIV cases nationwide are Filipinos.
Earlier, Dr. Marie Ellaine Velasquez of the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center said HIV treatment in the Asia Pacific has a 10-percent failure due to late detection, thus the importance of increasing the public awareness on the disease.
Geeny Austria of the Cordillera Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit had reported that 10 new HIV cases were discovered in Baguio City in the past several months of this year alone.
This placed the total number of HIV cases in the city to 30.
The previous 20 were detected in 2017 and are now all undergoing treatment.
Meanwhile, the city government continues with its massive information and education campaign on HIV-AIDS, especially among high-risk sectors like sex workers, to control the disease in the city, where cases were noted to be on the rise.
The city government is also espousing healthy practices and safe sex among the residents. (PNA)
