SKOPJE, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- In Macedonia 41 people were infected with HIV and three people died in 2018, the country's Public Health Institute announced in a news conference on Friday ahead of the World AIDS day on Dec.1.

Doctor Vladimir Mikic from the institute said at the conference 80 percent of the people tested positive to HIV are men aged 20-39, adding the number of HIV-related deaths dropped in the past 17 years, but the registered cases are on the rise.

"Most cases registered are among the sexually active population aged 20-39 and only 2.5 percent of the cases are people who had injected drugs," said Mikic.

In his speech, Macedonian Health Minister Venko Filipce declared that the budget of 2019 will provide 90 million Macedonian Denar (about 1.65 million U.S. dollars) to procure antiviral therapy and to implement HIV prevention programs.

Filipce called on the people to be tested for HIV at the Clinic for Infectious Diseases where tests are free, because early detection of the disease is the key.

A total of 400 HIV cases were registered and 99 HIV-related deaths were recorded in Macedonia since 1987.