"It's sadly one of the most preventable ones. We have seen a rise in infections in El Paso in the last 10 years,” said Ramos.

Ramos said since 1981 AIDS has claimed the lives of nearly 700 people here on the Borderland. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS, which damages the immune system making it weak. When diseases and infections attack the body, that's when a person is diagnosed with AIDS.

"If you detect HIV early in its early stages, the success rate to the response to the medication can extend the life of a person indefinitely,” said Ramos.

Juan Valles, a Horizon resident, encourages everyone to get tested. “You never know. I mean you don't just catch it from sex, you know, you can catch it from something else too," Valles said.

It's estimated that 300 to 400 people are infected but not aware, and that has one parent worried.

"We've seen it, all the updates and everything about HIV and AIDS and it's scary. Because people look normal, they're just out there with AIDS... it's scary, it is,” said Veronica Brooks, of Northeast El Paso.

Although men are at the top of the list, the number of women infected is rapidly increasing. If you feel you may be infected with HIV you can get tested Friday evening at a parking lot near the Santa Fe Bridge from 5-9 p.m. or at the O.P. night club from 9 p.m. to midnight. The test is free and results are given to you within 10 minutes.

Ramos also told KFOX that during last years National HIV Testing Day, El Paso came out on top in the U.S., beating any other metropolitan city on the number of people who actually came out and got tested with a total of 235 people.