File photo: CGTN

ULAN BATOR, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia registered 45,200 cases of infectious diseases in 2019, up 7.5 percent from 2018, data released by the country's National Statistics Office (NSO) showed Monday.

The number of cases of smallpox and syphilis grew by 31 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively, making them the main contributors to the increase, the NSO said.

In addition, the number of people who tested positive for HIV rose to 286 in the country with a population of over 3 million, after gaining 18 new cases last year.