also resonate with Georgia 's rural communities , which represent 39 percent of the HIV/AIDS burden in the state , said Raphael Holloway , director of the HIV Unit at the Georgia Division of Public Health . The remaining 61 percent of people living with HIV or AIDS are in the metro Atlanta area . `` In some districts , for example , there may be 10 counties within that health district but only one infectious disease doctor that people can access for care and services , '' he said . It is also difficult to get HIV education to people in rural areas , he said . Of the 29 states reporting county-level data for the National HIV/AIDS Atlas , Georgia had more counties than any other state with the highest levels of HIV and AIDS prevalence . Although this does not represent a comprehensive national assessment , Georgia ranked fifth in reporting of new AIDS cases in 2007 , behind Texas -LRB- fourth -RRB- , Florida -LRB- third -RRB- , New York -LRB- second -RRB- and California -LRB- first -RRB- , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . The Northeast also has a heavy burden
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The Southeast is among the areas of the United States with the highest concentration of cases of HIV and AIDS , according to a new online tool called the National HIV/AIDS Atlas . In this map of AIDS prevalence rates in the Southeast , red represents the highest -LRB- 0.593 percent or greater -RRB- . AIDS experts in the region say that access to health care , especially when it comes to screening , is a major problem in rural communities . In the Southeast , people with HIV tend to get tested late , after they have become sick , partly because of stigma , said Kathie Hiers , executive director of AIDS Alabama in Birmingham . `` If you look at access to health care and almost any kind of health care report card , the South is the worst , '' she said . With little or no public transportation , people in non-metropolitan areas are at a disadvantage when they need to see a particular kind of doctor , experts say . There is also a shortage of doctors who deal with HIV in the region , Hiers said . These problems