AIDS Society Of The Philippines » Department of Health

Weekly finds #1

ASP — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 10:51:14 +0000

We’ve found a few interesting articles online pertaining to HIV or related topics. We think you guys might find them interesting reads.

—–

DOH: 12 new HIV/AIDS cases per day
by Sheila Crisostomo (March, 2, 2013)
www.philstar.com

Photo from ASP Facebook page, lifted from registry published by NEC

MANILA, Philippines – From an average of nine new cases of HIV/AIDS a day in 2012, the Department of Health (DOH) registered 12 new cases daily in January this year.

Health Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said these 12 new cases daily are equivalent to 380 new cases reported to the DOH’s Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry in January 2013. Of these, 25 were already AIDS at the time of reporting.

—–

Consistent condom use in anal sex stops 70% of HIV infections, study finds, but intermittent use has no effect
by Gus Ciarns (March 4, 2013)
www.aidsmap.com

An analysis by Dawn Smith of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported at the 20th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2013) on 4 March has provided the first estimate of the efficacy of condoms in preventing HIV transmission during anal sex since 1989. It found condoms stop seven out of ten anal transmissions – the same efficacy found by the 1989 study.

Dawn Smith of the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) presenting at CROI 2013.

However, it also found that sometimes using condoms is not effective at preventing HIV infection, and that long-term 100% condom use is a minority behaviour: only one-in-six gay men actually managed to maintain it over the three- to four-year time frame of the analysis.

—–

US doctors cure child born with HIV
by Ian Sample (March 4, 2013)
www.guardian.co.uk

Mississippi doctors make medical history made with first ‘functional cure’ of unnamed two-year-old born with the virus who now needs no medication

Doctors in the US have made medical history by effectively curing a child born with HIV, the first time such a case has been documented.

The infant, who is now two and a half, needs no medication for HIV, has a normal life expectancy and is highly unlikely to be infectious to others, doctors believe.

Though medical staff and scientists are unclear why the treatment was effective, the surprise success has raised hopes that the therapy might ultimately help doctors eradicate the virus among newborns.

Doctors did not release the name or sex of the child to protect the patient’s identity, but said the infant was born, and lived, in Mississippi state. Details of the case were unveiled on Sunday at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

—–

Visit us for more articles we find around the web.

Playing it Safe for the Holidays

ASP — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 02:39:10 +0000

On April 5 and 6, Take The Test, with the support of the AIDS Society of the Philippines, will conduct a free mobile VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) at White Beach, Puerto Galera, a prime holiday spot for locals and foreigners taking advantage of the long Holy Week vacation. People flock to the beaches of Puerto Galera to kick back, relax, and enjoy, but whether or not the fun is on the beach or somewhere more intimate, it is advisable for fun seekers to take precautions.

As a prevention site of the Global Fund and as a partner of ASP, it has been a tradition since 2009 to have a mobile VCT at Puerto Galera. With 274 new cases reported by the Department of Health as of February 2012 (6 cases more than December last year’s highest number of 268 cases), knowing one’s HIV status is essential in preventing HIV transmission, especially in a place where the sun is hot and the bodies even hotter.

But given this temptation, is it worth the risk of infection? Promoting awareness in a place where there is risky behavior is important in preventing HIV. The Lenten Season is a time for reflection, after all, not a time for infection. Take the HIV test. Party but play it safe.

Going Social to Raise Awareness

ASP — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 02:35:27 +0000

Many of the outreach effort that promotes STI, HIV, and AIDS awareness have used different media to get their messages across. Internet, particularly social media, has outgrown other forms of communication as the fastest way to readily exchange available and accessible information and ideas. However the downside of this is that it is also the medium of choice for sexual negotiations or “hooking up” among casual partners, unguarded minors and sexually active youth engaging in practices that leads them to being at risk of or vulnerable to STI or HIV infection.

AIDS Society of the Philippines (ASP) takes part by expanding outreach to the discreet population of males having sex with males (MSM) in the country emphasizing on health information and HIV education, motivating health-seeking behaviour towards accessing voluntary HIV counselling and testing (VCT).

In response to the use of the internet as a venue to hook up and have sex, ASP, with support from the Department of Health and the Global Fund, contracted online peer educators that succeeded in their approach to assimilate in chat sites and online groups gaining an average of at least 30 VCT clients in a month referred to social hygiene clinics and the ASP off-site VCT clinic conducted every first Friday and third Saturday of the month. This online peer education approach is still in its infancy but it accords huge potentials for social awareness, reaching more and more people in the viral media and confronting hidden population in Facebook and other sprouting online groups.