MANILA — Seven-hundred fifty (750) new cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were recorded in December 2016, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

This meant that an average of 24 cases were being reported everyday in December.

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Based on the latest HIV/AIDS Registry of the Philippines, of the 750 cases, 72 developed into full-blown AIDS.

Thirty-seven died from HIV/AIDS in December 2016 alone.

Most of the cases (96 percent) were males. More than half belonged to the 25-34 year age group while 29 percent were youth aged 15-24 years.

The regions with the most number of reported cases were the National Capital Region (NCR) with 267 cases; Calabarzon with 136 cases; Central Luzon with 74 cases; Central Visayas with 59 cases; and Davao Region with 46 cases.

The report indicated that majority of the new HIV cases were male with 721, while females numbered to 29, including three pregnant women.

Majority of the new cases were transmitted sexually with 734 (97.8 percent), including the 649 (88 percent) coming from the male-having-sex-with-male (MSM) sector.

Homosexual contact had the highest number of new cases with 408, followed by bisexual contact with 241, and heterosexual contact with 85.

The remaining 16 individuals had acquired HIV via injecting drug use (IDU).

Among the youth sector, a total of 221 individuals aged 15-24 years old acquired HIV in December last year, including 219 infected through sexual contact, and two through IDU needle sharing.

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Among overseas Filipino workers, the DOH said that 53 cases were reported and that all came from sexual transmission, including 25 homosexual contact, 19 bisexual contact, and nine heterosexual contact.

There are a total of 9,264 HIV cases, including 1,113 Aids cases, and 439 deaths from January to December 2016.

Since 1984, 39,622 HIV cases have been recorded in the Philippines, including 3,665 AIDS cases, and 1,969 deaths. SFM

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