ULAN BATOR, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The number of cases of infectious diseases in Mongolia in the first three quarters of this year fell 8 percent from the same period last year, official statistics released on Monday showed.

There were some 31,100 cases of infectious diseases reported in the country from January to September, according to data released by the National Statistics Office.

The number of people who tested positive for HIV rose to 266 in the country which has a population of 3.2 million, after a new case was registered in September in the capital Ulan Bator.

The number of cases of smallpox and hand, foot and mouth disease dropped by 50.1 percent and 30.5 percent, respectively, making them the main contributors to the drop.?