No. of HIV+ people in Mongolia rises to 255

The number of people testing HIV positive in Mongolia rose to 255 after three new cases were registered in the first quarter of this year, the National Statistical Office said in a report Friday.

More than half the HIV-infected are between 20 and 44 years old. About 99 per cent of the infections were sexually transmitted, according to the report.

The first case of HIV infection in Mongolia was recorded in 1992. Since then, 40 people have died of AIDS in this Asian country with a population of over three million, reports Xinhua from Ulan Bator.