ULAN BATOR, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The number of HIV-positive people rose to 264 in Mongolia after two new cases were registered last month, the National Statistical Office said in a report Wednesday.

More than half of the HIV-infected are people between 20 and 44 years old. About 99 percent 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 East Asia country with a population of more than 3 million.

In the first seven months of this year, there were a total of 24,928 cases of infectious diseases reported in Mongolia, down by 12.8 percent from a year ago, the report said.