THE Department of Health (DOH) expressed alarm at the rising number of cases of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), reporting that 841 new cases were recorded in June, a 9 percent increase over the 772 cases reported in June 2015, and the highest number of new infections recorded in one month since 1984, when the first case of AIDS in the Philippines was confirmed.

The DOH pointed out that this was equivalent to 26 new cases of HIV infection per day, compared with an average of 17 per day in 2014, and just one per day in 2008. The previous highest monthly number of new HIV infections was recorded in January this year, when 801 people were reported to have contracted the virus.