New HIV cases on the Navajo Nation. Image from The Farmington Daily Times on May 6, 2013.

An Indian Health Service physician is urging immediate action to stem the rise of new HIV cases on the Navajo Nation.

In 2012, the IHS saw 49 new cases of HIV infection on the reservation, according to a report that was posted by The New York Times. That was up from 39 new cases in 2011, 35 cases in 2010 and 40 cases in 2009.

“I’m scared to death,” Dr. Jonathan Iralu told the paper. “The numbers show there is a dangerous rise, and the time to act is now, before it’s too late.”

Most of the new cases are being diagnosed at the Gallup Indian Medical Center in New Mexico, where Iralu works. But he said the entire reservation is affected.

The IHS has spent $5 million over the last three years to address HIV in Indian Country.

Get the Story:
Navajo Confront an Increase in New H.I.V. Infections (The New York Times 5/20)

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IHS continues to see rise in new HIV cases on Navajo Nation (05/06)