HIV epidemic may be imminent in the Philippines
Reporting by Tan Ee Lyn
11-May-2010
Philippines has lowest rate of condom use in Asia
Low condom use, needle sharing and a rise in casual sex and prostitution may unleash an HIV epidemic in the Philippines, according to a new study.
The report, published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society, said young adults, gay and bisexual men, prostitutes, injecting drug users, overseas Filipino workers and sex partners of all these groups were vulnerable to contracting the virus.
"There is no guarantee that a large HIV epidemic will be avoided in the near future. Indeed, an expanding HIV epidemic is likely to be only a matter of time as the components for such an epidemic are already present in the Philippines," wrote Anna Farr and David Wilson at the National Center in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
Unlike other countries in the region, the spread of HIV in the Philippines has been described as "low and slow" because of a disperse geography, relatively uncommon intravenous drug use, sexual conservatism and high male circumcision rates.
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Photo credit: Reuters/Romeo Ranoco