More and more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are being afflicted with the deadly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday.

Dr. Eric Tayag, chief of the DOH-National Epidemiology Center (NEC), said OFWs now account for nearly half of the confirmed HIV and AIDS cases in the country.

“In March, 38 HIV cases were reported and of the number, 13 or 34 percent were OFWs,” Tayag said.

Data from the DOH’s HIV and AIDS Registry also showed that of the total 3,191 confirmed HIV and AIDS cases recorded since 1984, 35 percent or 1,098 were OFWs.

All of the OFWs reported sexual intercourse as the mode of acquiring HIV.

Tayag said that OFWs are among the group classified by health experts as “vulnerable population” or at risk of acquiring the deadly infection.

According to medical experts, there was an increasing trend in the number of OFWs being reported as HIV positive, although the rise may be due to fact that more OFWs are voluntarily undergoing AIDS testing.

But for the past years, Tayag said, health experts have also observed an increasing trend in the number of OFWs engaging in homosexual contact, which may also trigger the spread of the illness.

Kasayaatanna ngarud kakabsat, kangrunaanna dagiti addaan asawa iti abroad, pacheck-upyo dagiti assawayo no bumakasyonda, kangrunaanna dagitay naggapo't Hongkong,Singapore,etc., all Overseas Contract Workers for safety purpses tapno saan kayo nga maakaran nga assawada.