Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
cases of gonorrhea in Cibola and McKinley Counties, respectively. Men and women have
relatively similar rates of gonorrhea (NMDH, 2008).
Figure 75. Cases of gonorrhea in McKinley County, 1999-2007 (NMDH, 2011b)
Syphilis incidence is also changing in New Mexico, with rates increasing 270 percent between
2000 and 2006, although the rate of syphilis has come down slightly since that time. Rates of
syphilis in McKinley County were the highest of the State in 2009 (Gorgos et al., 2010). Men
have much higher rates of syphilis than women.
Rates of chlamydia in New Mexico are one of the highest in the nation and they have been
steadily increasing since 2000. Current county rates are presented in table 86. The incidence rate
for chlamydia in New Mexico is 55.6 per 10,000, many times the rate of any other STD.
McKinley County reported the highest rate for chlamydia at around 95.7 per 10,000 (NMDH,
2011a). The rate of chlamydia in Cibola County was 73.6 per 10,000, also one of the highest rates
in the State. Chlamydia more greatly impacts females than males.
Although the incidence rate of HIV is well below the national average (0.80 vs. 1.94 per 10,000,
New Mexico vs. U.S), this rate has increased 14 percent since 2005 in New Mexico, while the
national rate has remained stable. American Indians and African Americans in New Mexico have
seen disproportionate increases in HIV incidence rates between 2005 and 2009 (NMDH, 2010b).
Within this timeframe, rates of HIV incidence have increased from 0.46 to 1.17 per 10,000 and
from 0.95 to 2.32 per 10,000 in American Indians and African Americans, respectively (NMDH,
2010b).
While incidence of HIV is increasing in New Mexico, rates of AIDS diagnoses (the final stage of
HIV disease) are decreasing. Between 2005 and 2009, the incidence of AIDS decreased 11
percent. AIDS disproportionately impacts males (NMDH, 2010b).
DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest 393