The number of HIV positive Bulgarians has gone up to 489 since the beginning of 2004, Bulgaria's Health Ministry announced.
The newly registered HIV positive cases in Bulgaria are 24, 17 males and 7 females. Most of the men affected by the HIV virus are at the age of 34, while the women's average age is 23.
The number of HIV positive Bulgarians living in Sofia is the biggest - 154.
Bulgaria is among the countries in the world with lowest number of HIV cases though there is tendency for a rapid growth of their number.
In the beginning of the year western experts warned that HIV-infections in Eastern Europe will spread at rapid pace over the next few years.
They pointed out that the number of AIDS suffering people in Ukraine has considerably gone up, reaching some 570,000 people.