AIDS from Mexico

Yet another reason for curbing immigration, particularly illegal immigration:


Last year, government researchers from Mexico and California announced plans for a joint study to explore the spread of HIV among migrant workers and their families. The study focused on seasonal farm workers, day laborers and urban workers in Fresno and San Diego counties, as well as similar groups and their relatives in the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Michoacan (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 2/7/03).

The first study of 600 migrant workers in Fresno and San Diego counties showed that as many as 1% of workers -- or 20,000 people -- are HIV-positive. That prevalence rate is more than three times as high as the rate in the general U.S. and Mexican populations, according to researchers. The second study, which was published in the Nov. 1 issue of the Journal of AIDS, found that HIV prevalence among pregnant women at Tijuana General Hospital in Mexico is more than four times as high as the rate among the general populations in both Mexico and the United States. According to Dr. George Lemp, head of the Universitywide Program who worked on both studies, previous research had "suggested that the epidemic was remaining stable in Mexico and that it was a fairly minimal problem among migrants," Lemp said.

Previous research has shown that migrants engage in high-risk behaviors -- such as sharing needles -- while in the United States, but there was "little evidence" of HIV infection to "go along with that risk," Lemp said, the Times reports.

Male migrant workers typically contract HIV in the United States through sexual contact with other men, as well as through the widespread use of shared needles to inject antibiotics and vitamins. Although it is "common" to inject antibiotics in Mexico, and syringes are available without a prescription, migrants often share needles in the United States because clean needles are not easily accessible, according to the Times.

Moreover, most workers do not know how HIV is spread or that their female sexual partners can contract the virus from them, the Times reports. Currently, at least 33% of migrants living with HIV/AIDS reside in the Mexican states that "export the most workers to the United States," according to the Times. "We've known it's just a matter of time before we started seeing these kinds of numbers coming from Mexico," Terry Cunningham, director of the Office of AIDS Coordination at San Diego's Health and Human Services Agency, said, adding, "It's alarming."

Don't hold your breath while waiting for the government to address this problem. Have a nice day!