HIV Clinic Opens in Naga

NAGA CITY --- Did you know that the number of Filipinos infected with human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) rose dramatically in the past 10 months?

Doctors at the Philippine General Hospital Infectious Diseases Treatment Complex said the number of HIV cases in the hospital rose to 100 in the past 10 months. Records from the Department of Health (DOH) showed that the number of HIV cases rose to 709 last year, compared to 528 in 2008.

Backdropped by these alarming data, a new clinic in this bustling metropolitan city has opened its doors to persons suspected to have been inflicted with HIV or sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and other adult infectious diseases (ID).

Thirty-three-year old Dr. Jose Manuel T. Rañola said his ID clinic offers diagnosis and treatment whose efficiency standards and technology are comparable to what Manila-based clinics provide.

Located along Panganiban Drive (Duplex 6-A, near St. John Hospital) here, the facility is the first of its kind in the city that will accommodate patients coming from different points of the Bikol Region.

Dr. Rañola agreed with the DOH that if current trends hold, HIV patients in the country could balloon to as much as 20,000 cases by 2020.

He also emphasized the importance of conducting a massive information drive to warn people about the dangers of unsafe sex.

Hospitals have also recorded HIV cases among young urban professionals such as call center agents. Majority of the recent HIV cases tend to be younger, mostly from ages 15-29, who are well educated, the findings show.

Some of those infected said they got the disease in casual or group sex, which they discovered through social networking sites on the internet.

ID specialists are tasked with infection control, antibiotic stewardship, public health, tropical medicine, indigent care, medico-legal consultation, foreign travel and international human rights. 

Most ID specialists focus on HIV/AIDS control, Malaria, Typhoid, Travel/Tropical Medicine, TB, Transplantation ID, and similar diseases.

Doc Joey is the son of Dr. Jose 'Sonny' Rañola, former medical director of St. John Hospital here and undefeated topnotch city councilor. The son is married to Michelle Castro-Rañola, an internal medicine specialist with whom he has a daughter. His younger brother is Dr. Renato "Bobot" Rañola, a General Orthopedics and Traumatology specialist now based in Arizona, USA.

Joey took his BS Medical Technology at the University of Sto. Tomas where he also finished his Doctorate in Medicine. He passed the medical board exams on February 2004 and underwent residency training in internal medicine at the Manila Doctors Hospital a year later until 2007.

He is a Philippine College of Physician diplomate and associate member of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.