EDITORIAL - On the rise

For the longest time Filipinos largely shrugged off the threat posed by AIDS. The perception was that the deadly disease afflicted mainly people like bar girl Sarah Jane Salazar, who died in 2000 at age 25 after contracting HIV when she was only 19, as well as other groups with a propensity for engaging in unprotected sex. The disease also afflicted drug abusers who shared contaminated needles.

Many theories have been posed about the seeming immunity of most Filipinos to the AIDS-causing Human Immunodeficiency Virus. A favorite is that the polluted, humid tropical environment seems to be hostile to potentially lethal viruses such as HIV and the organisms that cause SARS and H1N1.

All those theories are being overturned these days as AIDS and HIV cases rise at an alarming rate. Last December the Department of Health recorded its highest-ever number of AIDS/HIV cases in a month, with 268 reported nationwide. Of the number, 94 were full-blown AIDS – a leap from the 20 recorded during the same period last year. The 268 brought to 2,349 the tally for all of 2011 – a 37 percent increase from the 1,591 cases recorded in 2010.

Perhaps greater awareness of the disease has led to a higher rate of reporting. Health experts have also noted that the increase has been greatest within a particular sector: overseas Filipino workers. The mode of transmission is also shifting, from heterosexual sex to “MSM” or men having sex with men, including straight men. Health officials noted that for more than two decades, female sex workers were the principal transmitters of HIV. The shift started in 2007, with health workers also noting an increase among drug abusers.

It is not impossible to slow down the spread of the disease. An aggressive information campaign combined with access to condoms particularly in underprivileged communities can prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and save lives. With the spike in reported cases, authorities must act now.