HIV on the rise; dengue incidence down in Caraga

BUTUAN CITY – The regional office of the Department of Health (DOH) has reported contrasting trends in the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and the dengue virus in Region 13 or the Caraga region.

A disease surveillance report of the DOH in Region 13 showed that 19 new HIV-Acquired Immunity Deficiency (AIDS) cases were recorded in January this year, which was nearly quadruple of the 2017 incidence of five cases.

DOH 13 officials said that, from year 1995 to January, 2018, HIV cases now total 471 for Caraga region alone.

“As of January, 2018 alone, out of 19 cases, 18, or 95 percent of the cases, were acquired through sexual contact, and 12, or 63.2 percent, of these cases are through homosexual contact,” the DOH 13 said.

The DOH is providing antiretroviral (ARV) medicine for free to anyone who tests positive for HIV.

Caraga Epidemiology Surveillance Report over-all data showed that those afflicted belong to the 15-50 years old age bracket.

Meanwhile, according to the Regional DOH Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU), there were 8,099 cases recorded in the whole year of 2016 in the region, while only 2, 634 cases of dengue were registered in 2017.

And for the month of April, only three cases have so far been registered, a huge drop from the 165 cases recorded in the same month last year, the DOH 13 said.

There was only one reported death from January, 2018 to April 17 this year, while six deaths were recorded in the same period last year, it said.

DOH 13-RESU also reported that, unlike the previous years, there was no identified hotspot for dengue, reflecting the downward trend of its incidence across the region.

“Our continuing awareness program and also the effort of various officials of the different local government units make this significant downtrend of dengue cases in the region,” said DOH 13 Regional Director Dr. Jose R. Llacuna Jr., in a media forum here last Thursday.

The region’s health chief added that the agency will continue its intensified anti-dengue campaign, such as the Aksyon Barangay Kalaban sa Dengue (ABKD), the “Four O'Clock Habit," encouragement of report to the nearest disease reporting unit of any suspected dengue cases, cleanliness and other measures.

“Dengue and other mosquitoborne diseases may be prevented through the “4S campaign” which pertains to search and destroy of mosquito breeding places, the use of self-protection measures, seeking early consultation for fever lasting more than two days, and saying no to indiscriminate fogging,” Llacuna said.