TAKING note of the urgency for results, the Department of Health (DOH) announced that the testing for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) will now take just one day.
Likewise, the DOH said that it is now accessible across the Philippines.
In a statement, the DOH said that instead of waiting between seven days and three weeks, patients can receive their test results in just one day.
Due to the surge of HIV cases in the Philippines, the DOH encouraged Filipinos to get themselves tested for the virus.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 252,800 Filipinos are estimated to be living with HIV in 2025.
The WHO also said that the Philippines has the fastest-growing number of HIV cases in the Asia-Pacific region, with at least 57 Filipinos finding out that they have HIV every day this year.
Adding to this, an alarming rate of 500% increase in HIV cases amongst individuals ages 15 to 25.
In an effort to improve the surging HIV cases, the DOH designated 168 laboratories as rHIVda (HIV Drug Resistance and Viral Load Testing Laboratories). These are said to be capable of providing fast confirmatory tests.
These tests are mandatory for those individuals who yield a reactive result in the initial HIV screening.
