ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC) treatment hub has registered 400 People Living with Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (PLHIV) from 2008 until 2018.
This was bared on Saturday by Dr. Afdal Kunting, ZCMC public affairs director, who said that of the total number, 283 are undergoing treatment with anti-retroviral drugs for Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV).
Kunting said that 62 of the 400 have died while 47 have transferred to other treatment hubs and the remaining eight did not return to get their laboratory results.
Kunting said the youngest of the PLHIV is 17 and the oldest is 79. He said these patients are from Zamboanga Peninsula and the nearby provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, which are under the political jurisdiction of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
He also called on residents, especially those with risky sexual behavior, to voluntarily submit themselves for HIV testing.
“If you have the risk factor or risky behavior, have yourself tested. There are medications that control HIV and you can be productive members of the society,” Kunting said.
The HIV testing is done through blood samples and once positive, it will be referred to San Lazaro Hospital for confirmatory testing.
Kunting said those found positive with HIV are given anti-retroviral drugs that must be taken daily to suppress the virus.
He added that PLHIV can no longer transmit the virus if and when the viral level is already in its lowest or undetectable level.
