13-year-old becomes youngest individual to get HIV through sexual transmission in Palawan
A 13-year-old has become the youngest patient to contract the human immunodeficiency virus through sexual transmission in Palawan.
During the local Philippine Information Agency's Kapihan forum on March 19, Regina Villapa—the program coordinator of Puerto Princesa City Health Office's STI, HIV, and AIDS department—said the 13-year-old is among 17 individuals aged 0 to 14 in Palawan who have HIV as of March 18.
Villapa noted that the youngest patient in the province is a newborn infected through her mother via prenatal transmission.
Young adults, or those between 15 to 24 years old, on the island recorded a high number of HIV cases, at 391. Those in the 25 to 34 age group recorded the highest cases at 593. Individuals aged 35 to 49 accounted for 187 cases, while those 50 and up represented 22 cases.
Per Villapa, Puerto Princesa has the highest number of HIV cases in Palawan, which has 1,198 reported cases. By extension, the city accounts for the highest cases in the Mimaropa region, which has reported 2,261 cases.
Ma. Charisma Deriada, manager of Amos Tara Community Center which supports HIV patients, noted that the main cause of transmission is unprotected penetrative sex.
"Kung titingnan po natin sa data, mataas ang kalalakihan," Deriada said. "Dati, ang orientation ng HIV sa Philippines, babae ang mataas. Ngayon, baliktad na ang data."
Villapa sounded the alarm over the increase in cases but more importantly, the stigma in HIV testing amid societal judgment.
“We’re trying to get a higher number of key population na mag-avail ng testing," she said. "We still have a long way to go."
"People hesitate to get tested because of what others might say. That’s why many sacrifice their health," she added. There are even communities where they make a pact that no one will get tested. These are the mindsets we are trying to change."
Villapa also warned that the numbers are expected to rise, especially since the country has yet to reach the United Nations "95-95-95" target by 2030, in which 95% of people with HIV are officially diagnosed or know their status, 95% of diagnosed patients are receiving treatment, and 95% of them are achieving viral suppression.
HIV attacks the body's immune system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's spread through anal or vaginal sex, or sharing needles, syringes, or other equipment used to inject drugs.
HIV can be transmitted through certain body fluids: blood, semen, pre-seminal fluid, rectal fluids, and vaginal fluids. According to CDC, these fluids must come in contact with a mucous membrane or damaged tissue, if not directly injected into the bloodstream for transmission to occur.
Without treatment, HIV can lead to AIDS or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, a late stage of the virus infection when the immune system is already badly damaged.
The CDC said people with AIDS typically survive about three years without HIV medicine.
People who contract the virus will have it for life.
There's no effective cure for HIV to date, but proper medical care can control the virus.
The Department of Health, in a Feb. 13 press release, said there were 139,662 reported HIV cases in the country from January 1984 to September 2024, with 8,327 deaths. From July to September 2024 alone, there were 4,595 newly reported cases—which amounted to an average of 50 cases daily—with 459 AIDS-related deaths.
