Infectious Diseases

According to the United States (US) Census Bureau’s intercensal estimate for 2006, 44% of New Mexico’s population reported Hispanic ethnicity. New Mexico also has the greatest proportion of Hispanics than any other state in the US.

Located in a high desert plain in the Southwest U.S., the Four Corners region – Arizona (AZ), Colorado (CO), New Mexico (NM), and Utah (UT) - is the only place in the country where four states touch. Three of the four corners are on the Navajo Reservation and the fourth, in Colorado, is on the Ute Mountain Reservation.

According to the Migration Policy Institute, between 1990 and 2000 the number of foreign born residents in New Mexico increased by 86%. In 2000, foreign born persons represented 8% of the total NM population. The top three countries of birth were Mexico, Germany and Canada.

In May 2006, UNAIDS released the Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic.1 UNAIDS estimated that globally approximately 40 million people were living with HIV in 2006. Of these, about 17.7 million (48%) were women. This represents an increase from 16.5 million in 2004.