PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) – The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS infection in Cambodia has gradually declined to 0.78 percent by the end of 2010 from 2.75 percent in 1998, the Cambodian National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and Sexually Transmitted Infections said in a report on Tuesday.

The report said that the HIV/AIDS transmission among adults aged 15 to 49 has dropped to 0.8 percent last year from 2.5 percent in 1998.

It added that the centre needs about 50 million U.S. dollars per year to continue efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS epidemic through education and antiretroviral drug provision to patients.

Currently, there are 58,200 people living with HIV/AIDS, of them, 43,905 people including 4,307 children have received antiretroviral drugs.

The country has 87 health centers offering free-of-charge services to HIV/AIDS patients.