SANTA FE, N.M. -- A state Health Department study has found gay men in New Mexico are not getting regular tests for HIV, meaning many are finding out they have the virus when they become very ill.

Sixty-three percent of New Mexicans diagnosed with AIDS last year were unaware they had HIV, the virus that destroys cells in the immune system and leads to AIDS, according to the department's February study.

Two men with AIDS were already so sick that they died in emergency rooms.

Lily Foster, the department's HIV/AIDS surveillance coordinator and epidemiologist, said the avoidance of tests seems to be a trend.

"It's a shock," she said.

AIDS takes years to develop, and the earlier it is diagnosed, the longer the person's life expectancy.

Some 1,965 New Mexicans are living with HIV/AIDS, considered a low prevalence of the disease.

Nationwide, intravenous drug users make up the largest group of men infected, but the Health Department said that in New Mexico, AIDS hits homosexual men most.

Complacency about the disease and its stigma keep people from getting tested, Health Department officials have speculated.

Access to HIV testing doesn't seem to be the issue, Foster said. Everyone in New Mexico can get free, anonymous screening through public health offices.

Since 1998, more Hispanic gay men than Anglo gay men have been diagnosed with HIV and AIDS simultaneously, but the Health Department didn't recognize that as a trend until 2003.

"Hispanics are rising in the proportion of cases they contribute to the state," Foster said. "Not only are there more cases, but they're coming in sicker."

The problem is worst among Hispanic gay men between the ages of 30 and 49 who live in Bernalillo County and southern New Mexico.

Now the Health Department is looking at a different approach toward prevention.

"Sometimes the blanket approach of targeting the general population isn't the most effective approach," said Dr. Joan Baumbach, a medical epidemiologist at the department.

An estimated 4 percent of adult males -- 34,000 in New Mexico -- have sex with men.

New Mexico has emphasized all high-risk groups in its efforts to reduce HIV/AIDS. But the Health Department and New Mexico Community Planning and Action Group -- made up of people living with HIV/AIDS, prevention workers and affected communities -- plan to try a more targeted approach focusing on Hispanic gay men.

Health Department workers first must hold study sessions in communities to understand what's going on and why some Hispanic men who have gay sex aren't being tested. That will give prevention workers a better idea how to reach the group.