Health officials blamed yesterday online social networking for the rise in the cases of HIV/AIDS in the country last year.

Speaking at the weekly Kapihansa Manila Hotel media forum, FerchitoAvelino, Philippine National AIDS Council secretariat director, said the “mushrooming” of social networking sites in the past three years could be linked to the rising AIDS cases in the Philippines. “There has been no study but it has been pinpointed as one of the major factors in the rise of HIV/AIDS cases,” he said.