MERGED: HIV in the Philippines

[Balandido]

mao na ning resulta sa sobrang lustful deed!

[Scott Bernard]

Hala kamo, kumpyansa pa ug One night stand sa text2x or disco2x....!

[armsmenion]

most HIV is cause of bad hygiene.

[armsmenion]

bai first of all why mu sud ka ana nga shit then dili ka maggawas.

[armsmenion]

we are talking about hiv and really this is a real shit haha btaw its hard bai

[yacky2006]

HIV FOUND IN BLOOD BAGS

Source: Cebu Daily News | Cebu's Only Independent Newspaper

4 cases in C. Visayas; proper screening important
By Candeze R. Mongaya, Reporter



Four bags of donated blood tested positive for the AIDS virus in Central Visayas this year, an official said.

There were six similar tainted blood bags intercepted last year.

But the Department of Health (DOH) assured that safeguards are in place to prevent the transfusion of blood contaminated with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

“In many years that passed, there was never a single case of HIV transmitted through unsafe blood," said Dr. Gerard Belimac, director of the DOH’s National AIDS/STI Prevention and Control Program.

He said blood donations that turned out to be HIV-positive were immediately detected "so they were not in fact transfused."

Concern about the the purity and safety of blood banks and voluntary donations was heightened over the weekend when LPGMA party-list Rep. Arnel Ty cited a report from the National Voluntary Blood Safety Program that said 124 blood bags were found to be HIV-positive.

The DOH, however, said these bags were immediately discarded.

Ty noted that the 124 HIV-infected blood units from January to October already surpassed the 89 cases detected in 2009. In 2008, there were 74 HIV-positive blood units or more than double the 30 similarly contaminated units retrieved in 2007.

The DOH assured that potential blood recipients that blood banks are clean and safe from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

HIV causes AIDS or the acquired immune deficiency syndrome, a condition in which the body's immune systems break down, which could lead to death.

A donor can safely give a maximum of two blood bags within six months.

“There’s no 100 percent assurance that blood bags are safe,” said Reynette Christine Ligaray, chief of of the DOH–Sub-National Blood Center for the Visayas (SNBCV).

She confirmed the discovery of four HIV-positive blood bags from January to September, and six others last year in Central Visayas.

During a 16-day “window” or period, the virus remains undetectable after it is transmitted to another person, posing a limitation on the reliability of tests.

Most donors who tested positive for HIV were “patient-directed” or obliged to donate because they were paid or asked by family or relatives.

These account for 40 percent of donors. The other 60 percent are volunteers

“It’s difficult to assure the health condition of patient-directed donors because there are undue pressures for why they donated,” Ligaray said.

With a daily demand for at least 100 blood bags, the center is short of supply and rely heavily on patient-directed donors, said Ligaray.

The center also tests blood donations for hepatitis B and C, malaria and syphilis. When conducting bloodletting activities, Ligaray said they start with local communities with a low-risk population.

During the screening, if an initial reaction of HIV-positive blood is detected, the blood is sent to Manila office within five days for confirmatory tests.

The patients are referred to the Hospital Aids Core Team (HACT) in Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center for medical treatment and health education.

DOH 7 Regional Director Dr. Susana Madarieta said that all blood banks undergo quality assurance and HIV-accuracy tests, and that the public should not be alarmed.

In Central Visayas, a sharp increase was reported in the number cases of HIV cases for 2010. From 10 cases last year, the number went up to 173 as of September this year.

Most cases involved transmission through the use of infected needles, which pointed to illegal drug use, a unique trend for Central Visayas as HIV cases usually occur through sexual intercourse.

Only eight of the 173 cases got the virus through sexual relations while the rest were infected through the indiscriminate use of syringes.

In Manila, Dr. Gerard Belimac advised potential blood donors to go to HIV counseling and testing facilities, instead of using the usual screening process for blood donation to check if they were HIV positive.

"I (encourage) the public to instead go to HIV counseling and testing facilities if their main purpose is to get tested whether or not they are exposed to the virus... to ensure that our blood supply would remain truly safe from all infections," he said.

For January to October in 2010 alone, the DOH has recorded 1,305 new HIV-AIDS cases across the country. Of this number, 15 are full-blown AIDS cases. This was a sharp increase from last year's 835 HIV/AIDS cases. /Reporter CAndeze Mongaya and INQUIRER

[peewee_toot]

kita ko ani sa news gabi-i. daghana na d i naay sakit nga ing ani oi...

[anjerika]

lol nagkadaghan ang mga nagka AIDS.

[necrotic freak]

^^yes 90% infected thru drug use..

[trax]

mao ni news ako kita an gabii, ka faet ani oi