A closer look at HIV: How it is transmitted, how it is managed

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IT COULD be your classmate. A friend. A workmate. Or even you.

A growing number of young adults in Cebu City are testing positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a trend that is raising serious concern among local health authorities.

From January to March 2025, the Cebu City Health Department (CHD) recorded 101 new cases of HIV, with 63 cases reported in March alone.

Many of the patients are between 15 and 34 years old, a chunk of them barely out of their teens.

What is HIV/AIDS?

HIV is a virus that attacks the body’s immune system by targeting its white blood cells. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), when left untreated, HIV can progress to AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), a chronic, often fatal condition marked by the body’s inability to fight off infections and disease.

What makes HIV particularly dangerous is how invisible it can be in its early stages. Some people experience no symptoms, while others may only feel a flu-like illness, such as fever, headache, rashes, or sore throat, WHO explains.

By the time more noticeable symptoms arise, such as weight loss, diarrhea, and prolonged cough, the virus has often already compromised the immune system, the agency adds.

How is HIV transmitted?

According to WHO, HIV is spread through direct contact with certain bodily fluids from a person who has the virus, including blood, semen and vaginal fluids, breast milk, and rectal fluids.

The most common ways the virus is transmitted are through unprotected sex, especially anal or vaginal sex; sharing contaminated needles; and from mother to child during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding.

WHO also clarified that HIV is not transmitted through hugging, kissing, sharing food, or using the same toilet. Despite this, stigma and misinformation continue to cloud public understanding of the virus.

Why the surge?

The spike in new HIV cases in Cebu City is attributed by the City Health Department to increased testing and detection, as well as risky sexual behavior, especially among young people.

Unprotected sex remains the dominant mode of transmission. The rise of dating apps, casual hook-ups, and inconsistent condom use has all contributed to the increase, authorities explained.

National data

The Department of Health (DOH) reported a 500 percent increase in daily HIV cases across the Philippines from January to March this year.

On average, 57 new cases were detected daily, making the country the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in the Western Pacific Region.

The DOH is now calling for HIV to be declared a national public health emergency, a move that could unlock more funding and accelerate efforts to curb the virus’ spread.

Global number

Globally, the WHO estimated 39.9 million people are living with HIV, with around 1.3 million newly infected in 2023 alone.

While antiretroviral therapy (ART) has allowed people living with HIV (PLHIV) to live long and healthy lives, access remains a challenge in many countries.

In the Philippines, ART is available for free through government programs. However, stigma, fear of discrimination, and lack of awareness still prevent many from getting tested and treated.

Testing

WHO stressed that early detection is key to managing HIV and preventing transmission. Rapid diagnostic tests and self-testing kits can detect the virus, although confirmation from trained health personnel is still needed.

Social hygiene clinics provide free and confidential testing, encouraging sexually active individuals, especially those with multiple partners, to get tested regularly.

Those who test positive can be linked immediately to life-saving ART, which improves health and prevents sexual transmission if the viral load becomes undetectable.

Prevention

According to the WHO, HIV is entirely preventable. Protection measures include consistent and correct condom use, considering Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) if at high risk, taking Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) within 72 hours of possible exposure, regular testing, avoiding sharing needles, and ensuring blood transfusions and tattoos are done with sterile equipment.

Doctors may also prescribe injectable HIV prevention drugs such as cabotegravir, or vaginal rings for women at higher risk.

Living with HIV is not a death sentence

With proper treatment, HIV is no longer a death sentence. WHO emphasized that People on ART who maintain an undetectable viral load cannot transmit the virus through sex, a breakthrough summarized by the phrase U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable).

The global goal is to have 95 percent of all PLHIV diagnosed, 95 percent of those on ART, and 95% of those with suppressed viral loads by 2025, in line with Sustainable Development Goals aimed at ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.

As of 2023, global figures stood at 86 percent, 77 percent, and 72 percent, respectively, showing progress but still far from the finish line.(TGP)