DOH reports 160 new cases of HIV from paying for sex

May 24, 2019

The Department of Health (DOH) said Friday there were 160 new cases of people engaged in paid sex got HIV based on a March report.

“In March 2019, 14 percent (160) of the newly-diagnosed cases engaged in transactional sex,” said the DOH report.

People who engage in transactional sex are those who reported they pay for sex, regularly accept payment for sex, or do both.

Among those who accepted payment for sex, 56 were males while three were females.

As for those who paid for sex, all 77 were males.

All but one of the 24 engaged in both activities were found to be males.

“Ninety-eight percent (156) were male and aged from 17 to 62 years old,” said the DOH.

From January to March, there are 415 cases of people acquiring HIV after engaging in transactional sex.

From December 2012 to March 2019, there were a total of 6,482 cases involving people who engaged in transactional sex and reported to have HIV. DMS