OFWs with HIV

seen to surpass 7K
mark this year
to keep the vitus sup-
pressed, as long as diair-
nosed and remeilied earli.
OFWsnow reDresent 10
THE nurnber of ovetgeas percent of the agqreqate
Filipino workers (OFWS) 67,395 confkmeif cises
diagnosed ae human im- listed in tlrc National FtrV/
munodeficiency vitus AIDS Regisw as of Mav.
(Hfv,-positive i;
likety ro accordind ho 'B€rtiz.
Eurpass the zoo(tsmark'this The dFWs in the resis-
year, the ACTS-OFW Coa- trv worked abroad inside
lition of Oreanizationg the past five years, either
said vesterda;. on land or at sea, when
"T1re cumJlative no-- they were diagnosed HIV-
ber of OFWs confirmed as positive, Berdz said.
Hlv-positive could reach
more than 7,200 bv the end
of the year, at the'rate new 79c Q
cases aie beine discovered.',
said ACTgOFW chairman
Aniceto Bertiz IIL a former
conglessman,
From }anuarv to Mav this
year alone, a iotal of 444
newly confirmed HIV-Dosi-
tive OFWs were reooited.
up 21 percmr from ihe 36d
recorded in the sarne oeriod
in 201& accordinp to bertiz-
"All told, the iotal num-
ber of OFWs found livine
with HIV has reached 6.69U
since 1984 when the eovem-
ment first beqan iassive
surveillance ol the'virus.,,
added Bertiz.
"IiVe would urse rehlrn-
ing OFWS who sdD€ct fh,r
thEy may have acquired HIV
while wbrking abioad to get
thems€lves tested and tre;r-
ed early, so that thev can
contbui to live econoinicat-
ly productive and healthe
lives," Bertiz said.
HIV causes the Acouired
Immune Deficiencv'Svn
drome (AIDS), which te-
stroys the human bodv,s
natural abitity to fiqht off'al
kinds of bacterial. "virat anrt
fungal infections.
HIV still does not have
any known cure, but sus-
tained antiretroviral treat-
r{rent (A4T). heq bgltino$m