HIV cases among injecting drug users rising

THE number of injecting drug users (IDUs) who have tested positive for HIV has steadily risen from January to March this year.

According to data provided by the HIV/AIDS and ART Registry of the Philippines (HARP), the number of patients who acquired the virus from needle-sharing increased from 16 last January to 19 in February and 22 in March. This brings to 57 the total number of such cases in the first quarter of the year and to 1,789 from ‬January ‬1984 when AIDS was first detected in the country‭ ‬to ‭‬March‭ ‬2017.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬