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By Jay-Ar Keita The Philippines’ battle with HIV continues, as the number of newly diagnosed people living with HIV (PLHIV) remains high. According to the HIV/AIDS and ART Registry of the Philippines (HARP), an average of 30 new cases per day were reported in June 2017, only five cases less compared to May 2017's daily average.This time last year, there were 841 new cases reported. The latest data shows a 20% increase to this month’s census of 1,013. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of these were asymptomatic at the time of reporting. Stock photo / Pixabay Sexual contact remained the top mode of transmission, according to the report. Eight hundred eighteen (818) reported cases were men having sex with men (MSM), while 151 were from heterosexual intercourse. Out of the 818 MSM cases, 554 were through homosexual contact, and the remaining 264 came from bisexual contact. Also listed were sharing of infected needles with 25 cases and mother-to-child transmission with 7, while the remaining

By Jeffrey Venzuela The latest data (June) released by DOH , shows that more than half of the reported cases of HIV belong to the age range of 25-34 years old, which means that most cases are young professionals. With the ongoing advancement of treatment and maintenance for HIV and AIDS, it should be known that life doesn ’ t end upon diagnosis. Living, however, can still be an uphill battle. While some people look to their jobs to make ends meet, others consider their work as a part of their self-fulfillment and self-realization. In this edition of STATUS, we ask: Should your serostatus matter at your workplace? One ’ s serostatus is very sensitive and private information. Only you can choose to disclose it. However, there may come a time when working conditions are not so favorable to your health or you would need to explain frequent absences. In times like these, it would be beneficial to talk to your supervisor or human resource personnel about your situation. Image by Jiru Rada A