DIGOS CITY -- The City Health Office (CHO) here alerted its residents after the City reached the Category B status in the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV-Aids).
According to Ranesa Christine Alvarado, Nurse II, STI (Sexually Transmitted Infections)/HIV-Aids program coordinator of the CHO, the city will be placed in “Category B” level when the number of residents who are tested positive of HIV-Aids in a year reaches to five to six.
In 2018, there were 11 cases of HIV-Aids recorded by the CHO.
The office urged the public to get tested of HIV-Aids, especially if they are sexually active.
Alvarado also encouraged individuals who experience symptoms of HIV-Aids to go to the CHO or at the Provincial Health Office (PHO) to undergo a “medical test” to confirm whether they have STI or HIV.
The HIV testing is free at the CHO and PHO and confidentiality will also be practiced at the offices.
In the PHO data, there were 156 individuals who tested positive of HIV-Aids from 1984 until June 2018, while the CHO recorded 69 during the same period in Digos City alone.
According to the same data, 82 percent who tested positive of HIV ranged from 15 to 24 years old, which means that those who contracted the disease are getting younger and younger.
Most of those who are tested positive are also young professionals and students.