Manila - Amid stern warning from health officials against potential HIV/AIDS “explosion,” a waste and pollution watchdog on Friday pushed for vigorous action to prevent and control harmful chemicals that can further weaken and damage the immune system.
Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral and other officials have expressed concern over the alarming upsurge of HIV/AIDS cases that rose to 835 cases in 2009, the highest within a single year since 1984. The Philippines now has 4,424 reported cases of HIV/AIDS.
Reacting to the increased occurrence of HIV/AIDS in the country, the EcoWaste Coalition stressed the importance of preventing human exposure to toxic substances that are known to damage immunological functions and cause other serious health issues.
“A human body exposed to harmful chemicals will be more helpless against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).” said retired nurse Elsie Brandes-De Veyra of the EcoWaste Coalition.
“Harmful chemicals can have serious health effects, including damaging or killing cells, tissues and organs that protect the body from germs and other disease-causing invaders,” said De Veyra who also sits at the Philippine National AIDS Council and the Philippine Commission on Women.
Exposure to toxic chemicals such as, for example, cadmium, lead and mercury through inhalation, ingestion, dermal absorption and other pathways can lead to a weaker immune system and aggravate HIV/AIDS, the EcoWaste Coalition said.