ABSTRACT
Mexican migrants transit from areas with relatively lower rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) infection to areas with higher rates of infection. The majority of the migrant workers are from rural areas in Mexico. Many have lower levels of education, are pre-literate, and with practically no knowledge of the English language. In 1992, one-half of the AIDS cases in Mexico were identified in regions that exported 75 percent of the total migrating flow but were home to only 35 percent of the national population. Furthermore, 10 percent of the AIDS cases in Mexico had resided in the US, and their demographic profile was very similar to that considered as typical among the AIDS cases in North America. The destinations in the US of the migrating flow have a higher rate of HIV/AIDS incidence than the places of the migrants' origin.
