By Betheena Kae Unite

Manila residents can now avail of free testing and treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the city’s health department said.

Dr. Benjamin Yson, Manila health department officer-in-charge, said the city government has recently procured antiretroviral (ARV) medicines that control the spread of HIV in order to prevent progression into the deadly acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

“Patients who will be diagnosed with HIV will be given treatment including antiretroviral (ARV) drugs,” Yson said.

He added that the city health department has been conducting HIV/AIDS information drive in all Manila’s barangays and encouraging interested residents to undergo HIV testing.

The free HIV tests and treatment are being conducted at the Manila Social Hygiene Clinic in Sta. Cruz.

Yson also said the city health department also offers free screening for sexually transmitted diseases.

Reaching out

Yson said the city government is trying to reach out to more Manileños so they would know the actual extent of HIV infections in the city, with testing, information and detection to prioritize men having sex with men (MSM).

“We can focus on MSMs and I think it can make a bigger impact on the detection, prevention and decreasing transmission,” Yson said.

MSM infection comprises 92 percent of the 841 new HIV cases recorded in the country last June, based on the HIV/AIDS Registry of the Department of Health. That is the highest ever recorded in a single month since 1984, when HIV was first detected in the country.

Out of the 841 HIV cases, 103 developed into full-blown AIDS.

Manila mayor Joseph Estrada said “while the rate of HIV infections in Manila remained ‘manageable,’ the ever-increasing number of individuals getting infected by the virus in the country is a cause of alarm on the part of the city government and is now a major public health issue among the local government units.”