For the seventh straight year, the number of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) cases in the country has grown.

According to the December 2016 HIV and AIDS Registry of the Philippines (HARP) report of the health department, there were 9,264 HIV and AIDS cases in 2016.

This is broken down into 8,151 HIV cases and 1,113 AIDS cases. Deaths numbered 439.

The 9,264 cases sustained a trend since 2010, when the Philippines reported more than 1,000 new cases yearly. In 2015, there were 7,831 HIV and AIDS cases.

“Eighty-five percent (33,607) of all 39,622 diagnosed cases in the Philippines since 1984 were reported from January 2011 to December 2016,” noted the HARP report released Wednesday.

In December 2016, the health department said a total of 750 cases have been reported, including 72 full-blown AIDS cases and 37 deaths.

Most new cases were transmitted sexually with 734 (97.8 percent), including 649 (88 percent) from male-having-sex-with-males.

Homosexual contact were the highest number of new cases with 408, followed by bisexual contact with 241, and heterosexual contact with 85. Sixteen got HIV through injecting drugs..

Majority of the new HIV cases were males with 721, while females reached 29, including three pregnant women.

Among the youth sector, a total of 221 individuals aged 15-24 years old acquired HIV in December 2016, including 219 infected through sexual contact, and two through IDU needle sharing.

The regions with the most number of cases were the National Capital Region (NCR) with 267 followed by Calabarzon with 136. DMS