CAGAYAN de Oro has recorded a total of 21 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-reactive residents from January to October 2020, City Epidemiologist Dr. Joselito Retuya reported Tuesday, December 1.
Retuya said the city's HIV positivity rate is around 7.36 percent.
As of January to October 2020, the City Health Office has tested a total of 421 people for HIV, 285 of whom are Cagayan de Oro residents.
The 136 individuals are from different parts of Northern Mindanao and other regions.
"Naa pa tay mga pasyente pud nga nagpa-examine sa atong social hygiene clinic bisan dili taga Northern Mindanao. Naay uban gikan sa Cebu, naa puy gikan sa laing dapit," Retuya said.
According to the city epidemiologist, the number of HIV cases in not just Cagayan de Oro but also the whole country has declined this year.
"Pagsugod December 2019, niabot tag 35 cases a day. Sa pagkakaron, hangtod sa Oktubre, nay bag-ong nigawas nga report sa atoang HIV sa tibuok Pilipinas, naa na lang tay 21 ka kaso a day. But still this is still very high," Retuya said.
He added that unlike the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, HIV/Aids still has no vaccine and the discrimination and stigma within the community in regards to people living with HIV is still present.
"Taas gihapon ang atong stigma for HIV pero aduna tay improvement. Ang mga tao karon dili na kaayo grabe ang ilahang diskriminasyon ug paghatag og stigma sa mga persons living HIV," Retuya said.
World Aids Day is observed yearly on December 1 to intensify the advocacy on the prevention and control of HIV/Aids. This year's theme is "Global Solidarity, Shared Responsibility."
"Buot pasabot, hiniusa sa tibouk kalibutan nga pakigbatok bahin sa atoang HIV/Aids dili ta magtuklod-tuklod na imo ni, ako ni, so kitang tanan duna tay share sa pag angkon nga kita duna pud tay tulubagon sa atong pagtan-aw sa atong mga myembro sa atoang komunidad nga magkasakit sa HIV," Retuya said.