The Philippines recorded 4,633 latest confirmed cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the course of the first quarter of 2026, with nearly all cases occurring amongst males, in accordance with the Department of Health (DoH).
The newly logged cases translate to a ninefold increase from January to March compared with the identical period last yr, the DoH said in its latest surveillance report.
Because of this about 51 latest cases were diagnosed per day in the course of the first quarter, which the report noted an 11% decline compare to the previous quarter.
The country’s total HIV cases stands at 168,079, from the primary reported case in January 1984 to March 2026.
Of the full latest cases, 4,381 were reported amongst males, comprising 95% of the cases, while 252 latest cases were logged amongst females, accounting for five%.
As for age demographics, nearly half of the brand new cases, or 2,118 (46%), were reported amongst individuals aged 25 to 34 years old.
This was followed by individuals aged 15 to 24 years old, with 1,443 latest cases or 31% of the full.
Other age groups also recorded latest cases: 845 (18%) amongst individuals aged 35 to 49 years old, 116 (3%) amongst those aged 50 years and older, and 23 (<1%) amongst individuals younger than 15 years old.
The DoH said this brought the country’s median age of recent HIV cases to twenty-eight years old.
Of the full recorded latest cases, 24% or 1,104 were diagnosed with advanced HIV disease on the time of diagnosis.
When it comes to geographic distribution, the National Capital Region logged the very best variety of cases at 989 (21%), followed by Region IV-A with 808 (17%), and Region III with 551 (12%).
Latest cases were also reported in Region XII (277), Region XI (263), Region VII (228), Region VI (216), Region I (191), Region X (183), Region V (158), Region IX (137), the Negros Island Region (133), and Region II (108), in addition to in Region IV-B and VIII (101), CARAGA (84), BARMM (42), and CAR (37).
The DoH said the mode of transmission for brand spanking new HIV cases stays primarily through sexual contact, accounting for 4,214 cases (91%), including 3,095 amongst males who’ve sex with males and 567 amongst individuals who engaged in each male-to-male and male-to-female sexual contact.
While no definitive cure is currently available, the DoH earlier said that individuals living with HIV undergo antiretroviral therapy (ART), which “slows down and virtually halts the progression” of the disease. People living with HIV on ART should live long and healthy lives.
For prevention, the DoH urged the general public to practice secure sex and to make use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people at high risk of infection.— Edg Adrian A. Eva