GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The city government has expanded its testing program for Human Immunodeficiency Virus and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) as the confirmed cases in the area continued to increase.
Dr. Mely Lastimoso, coordinator of the City Health Office’s (CHO) Social Hygiene Clinic (SHC), said Monday the initiative was mainly aimed to ensure the early diagnosis of HIV/AIDS cases and provide patients with immediate treatment.
She said the CHO is currently conducting free HIV/AIDS screening at the clinic, which is situated at the compound of the local government-run Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital.
The clinic also conducts mobile screening and testing services at the barangays and local shopping malls, she said.
As of the first week of December, the confirmed HIV/AIDS cases in the city already reached a total of 504.
Among the latest cases involved an 81-year-old male who was found positive after undergoing screening during the observance of the World AIDS Day last Dec. 1.
At least 80 patients or persons living with HIV are currently undergoing antiretroviral or ARV drug treatment at the CHO-run treatment hub.
Most of the confirmed HIV/AIDS cases in the city were found among male professionals in the 22 to 25 age bracket who were engaged in “risky sexual behaviors.”
They include gays, bisexuals, men who have sex with men or MSMs, and others who engage in unprotected sex and with multiple partners.
Lastimoso said they are currently reaching out to residents who were previously found reactive of HIV but did not sought treatment.
She said they had numerous cases wherein patients only asked for help when they were already bed-ridden or confined to the intensive care unit of local hospitals.
“It’s difficult to treat those who are already in the advanced stages so we want them to accesses the ARV treatment the earliest possible,” she said in an interview over a local television program.
Lastimoso reiterated that ARV drug treatment, which costs around P70,000 per patient every year, are given for free.
ARV drug treatment mainly stops the multiplication of the infected person’s viral load and eventually prevents them from further spreading the disease.
In some countries, the use of antiretroviral drugs has helped effectively lower the incidence of HIV infection to about one percent and eventually stabilized the detected cases.
Aside from the screening and ARV treatment, she added that the CHO provides counselling services to patients.(PNA)
