THE second quarter of 2025 saw a slight decline in the number of new cases of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), based on data released by the Department of Health (DOH).
According to the April to June 2025 HIV and Aids Surveillance of the Philippines report, the DOH noted that the average number of new cases per day dropped to 55.
This is lower than the 57 newly diagnosed HIV cases per day in the first quarter of 2025.
"Compared to the previous quarter’s average cases per day, there has been a decrease," the DOH said.
Overall, the DOH reported that 4,979 new HIV cases were recorded from April to June 2025, slightly lower than the 5,101 cases reported from January to March 2025.
The DOH said sexual contact remains the leading mode of HIV transmission, accounting for 4,756 or 96 percent of the newly reported cases.
Of these, 3,544 were through male-to-male sex, 641 through sex with both males and females, and 571 through male-to-female sex.
There were also 23 reported cases due to the sharing of infected needles, nine through mother-to-child transmission, while 191 had no data on the mode of transmission at the time of diagnosis. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)