SOLOPOS.COM – Illustration of HIV and AIDS. (Freepik.com)
Solopos.com, WONOGIRI — Department of Health (Dinkes) Wonogiri registered 49 cases human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in January-September 2022. Eight of the newly detected cases were pregnant mother.
This new case adds to the cumulative number of HIV/AIDS cases in Wonogiri which was 714 from 2001 to September 2022. Of this cumulative number, 450 people with HIV (PLWHA) are still alive and 264 PLHIV have died.
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HIV is a virus that damages the immune system by infecting and destroying CD4 cells. The more CD4 cells that are destroyed, the immune system will be weaker and the body will be more susceptible to disease.
Stwhile AIDS is the final stage of HIV infection. At this stage, the body’s ability to fight infection is lost.
Wonogiri Health Bureau Disease Prevention and Control (Kabid) Division Chief Satyawati Prawirohardjo said there were 18 more cases since the first half of 2022. In January-June 2022, there were 31 new cases.
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Heterosexual or different genders are still the largest contributors to HIV cases compared to other risk factors such as men who have sex with men (MSM), perinatal or housewife (IRT). Up to September 2022, 35 cases of heterosexual risk factors have been recorded, while the cumulative number since 2001 was 486 cases.
This is far from other risk factors at the same time with 10 cases of MSM and 3 cases of IRT.
“There are eight pregnant women confirmed to have HIV in 2022 through September. Three of these were included as IRT risk factors and the other five were included as heterosexual risk factors. The five cases were not included in the risk factors for IRT because they didn’t have or didn’t have an official partner yet,” said Wati, Satyawati’s nickname, speaking to Solopos.com in his office at the Wonogiri Health Bureau.
According to Wati, the number of new cases found for pregnant women living with HIV is quite a lot compared to the results of the same cases in previous years. In previous years, HIV cases among pregnant women were only about two or three cases. Meanwhile, HIV cases among MSM risk factors also show an increasing trend.
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“In the third quarter of this year alone, HIV cases in MSM there are 10 cases. In the second quarter, there were 8 HIV cases among MSM. Since 2017, the trend of MSM cases has almost always gone up,” she said.
He added, any sexual orientation in which sexual activity involves penetration and is carried out by multiple partners is at high risk of HIV transmission.
AIDS Commission Secretary Supriyo Heryanto said the rising trend of MSM cannot be separated from the role of Gajah Mungkur’s Peer Support Group (KDS) in providing education and early diagnosis to MSM groups.
“They mapped key populations such as MSM, female sex workers (FSW), and waria. We got an estimate of the number of MSM in Wonogiri as 268. Of that number, 214 were counseled for HIV testing,” Supriyo said.
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Gajah Mungkur’s KDS member Lastri said his party has been trying to reach key populations since 2020. Outreach was done by observation in access point which should be their hangout place. Including their monitoring in applications that are often used by key populations such as MSM.
