MindaNews / 15 May — Three regions in Mindanao were among the 10 areas in the country that recorded the highest number of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases from January to March 2025, according to data from the Epidemiology Bureau of the Department of Health.
Region 11 placed the island at 4th spot with 306 cases, followed by Regions 10 and 12, which were ranked 8th with 178 cases each.
Region 9 was at the 11th spot with 141 cases, while Caraga and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao were ranked 15th and 16th with 105 and 46 cases, respectively.
The current figure for Region 11 is an increase of 21 percent of the 253 cases recorded from October to December 2024. The rest of the regions of Mindanao also showed increases compared to the previous quarter.
A total of 5,101 cases were reported during the first quarter this year, bringing to 148,831 the recorded HIV infections in the country since 1984. Of the new cases, 4,849 are males and 252 are females.
The National Capital Region topped the list with 1,251 new cases or 25 percent of the national total, followed by Region 4A with 905 cases, and Region 3 with 554. These three regions all showed increases in the number of cases compared to the figures for the period October to December 2024.
From January 1984 to March 2025, Mindanao has recorded 21,521 HIV cases with Region 11 registering 8,350, the highest in the island and 6 percent of the national total.
BARMM recorded the lowest incidence with 573 cases or less than 1 percent of the national total.
For the first quarter this year, the age group 25-34 had the highest number of cases, with 2,491 reported (47 percent), followed by 1,686 cases among individuals aged 15-24 (33 percent).
“Sexual contact has consistently been the leading mode of HIV transmission among newly diagnosed cases over the years. From January 1984 to March 2025, of the 148,831 reported cases, 143,272 (96 percent) were acquired through sexual contact. This includes 89,198 cases
from male-male sex, 33,823 from male-male/female sex, and 20,251 from male-female sex,” the DOH data said.
It noted that in the first quarter of this year, 4,899 (96 percent) newly reported cases had acquired HIV through sexual contact—3,645 through male-male sex, 705 through male-male/female sex, and 549 through male-female sex. Meanwhile, 12 reported sharing of infected needles, 17 through mother-to-child transmission, and 173 had no data on mode of transmission at the time of diagnosis.
“HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system.
Without treatment, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). There is currently no effective cure. Once people get HIV, they have it for life,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“But proper medical care can control the virus. People with HIV who get on and stay on effective HIV treatment can live long, healthy lives and protect their partners,” the agency added. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)
