MALOLOS CITY—Senator Richard Gordon warned yesterday that the country might face shortage of supply of donated blood due to Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic.
In a live interview over dzBB radio on Tuesday, Gordon said that the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) is taking every precaution to make sure that donated blood are free from Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.
“Maaaring magkaroon ng blood crisis sa Pilipinas dahil AIDS epidemic,” he said.
Gordon said that it might take two three months before a donated blood can be determined to free from HIV.
He said “matagal kasi bago lumitaw ang virus, hindi agad nakikita.”
Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) disclosed that that the number of HIV cases in the country rose to 709 last year, compared to 528 in 2008.
Dr. Edsel Savana of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Infectious Disease Treatment Complex said 80 HIV cases were recorded for November alone and the spread of AIDS in the country is already epidemic.
Dr. Katerina Leyritana said hospitals have also recorded HIV cases among young urban professionals such as call center agents.
She said majority of the recent HIV cases tend to be younger, mostly from ages 15-29, who are well educated.
Some of those infected said they got the illness after engaging in casual or group sex, which they discovered through social networking sites on the Internet.
As this developed, former labor undersecretary Susan Ople called on the leaders of the call center industry and the department of labor and employment to embark on a joint awareness campaign on HIV/AIDS prevention in the workplace.
Citing reports from the PGH, she said the number of Filipinos infected with HIV rose dramatically in the past 10 months and now includes young urban professionals such as call center agents.
Ople, a senatorial candidate of the Nacionalista Party, noted that study conducted by the UP Population Institute, has shown a significant number of call center employees engaged in non-romantic but regular casual sex through a system dubbed as “FUBU” or “Fucked Buddies.”
“I validated the results of this survey with several call center agents and they told me that FUBU is gaining ground especially among nightshift workers,” the labor advocate said, adding that values enhancement services and activities should be made available to call center agents.
In a live interview over dzBB radio on Tuesday, Gordon said that the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) is taking every precaution to make sure that donated blood are free from Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.
“Maaaring magkaroon ng blood crisis sa Pilipinas dahil AIDS epidemic,” he said.
Gordon said that it might take two three months before a donated blood can be determined to free from HIV.
He said “matagal kasi bago lumitaw ang virus, hindi agad nakikita.”
Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) disclosed that that the number of HIV cases in the country rose to 709 last year, compared to 528 in 2008.
Dr. Edsel Savana of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Infectious Disease Treatment Complex said 80 HIV cases were recorded for November alone and the spread of AIDS in the country is already epidemic.
Dr. Katerina Leyritana said hospitals have also recorded HIV cases among young urban professionals such as call center agents.
She said majority of the recent HIV cases tend to be younger, mostly from ages 15-29, who are well educated.
Some of those infected said they got the illness after engaging in casual or group sex, which they discovered through social networking sites on the Internet.
As this developed, former labor undersecretary Susan Ople called on the leaders of the call center industry and the department of labor and employment to embark on a joint awareness campaign on HIV/AIDS prevention in the workplace.
Citing reports from the PGH, she said the number of Filipinos infected with HIV rose dramatically in the past 10 months and now includes young urban professionals such as call center agents.
Ople, a senatorial candidate of the Nacionalista Party, noted that study conducted by the UP Population Institute, has shown a significant number of call center employees engaged in non-romantic but regular casual sex through a system dubbed as “FUBU” or “Fucked Buddies.”
“I validated the results of this survey with several call center agents and they told me that FUBU is gaining ground especially among nightshift workers,” the labor advocate said, adding that values enhancement services and activities should be made available to call center agents.