13-year-old girl is youngest person with HIV in Davao

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A 13-year old girl is the youngest person living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Davao City, according to health officials at the Reproductive Health and Wellness Center (RHWC).

Gloria Serrano, a nurse at the RHWC, said the girl is so far the youngest among the 1,661 persons living with HIV recorded in Davao City.

But the girl is a resident of Baguio City whose condition was discovered only after she arrived for a vacation.

“She is from Baguio City who is here for a vacation," Serrano said. "She was brought to the center by her aunts for a check-up after they noticed the rashes all over her body."

Details of how the girl contracted the virus were not disclosed. The center is giving free testing and counseling on HIV-AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. It also provides medicines to persons living with HIV. The main treatment hub is the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).

In June 2016, the center has recorded 38 new HIV persons living with HIV -- 34 of them are male, while 4 are female.

Of the total 1,661 HIV cases recorded by the center since 1984, 771 are aged between 25 and 34, 663 are aged between 15 and 24, 193 are aged between 35 and 49,  52 are 50 years old and above, while two are 15 years old and below.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) lead the list with 845 cases, bisexuals with 584, and heterosexuals with 222.

The center also recorded 8 cases of unknown mode of transmissions, while two (2) cases of parents to children transmissions. AJRSP with CIO

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