This year's second quarter saw 98 HIV cases reported, the Centre for Health Protection says. There were 24 new cases of AIDS, bringing to 1,071 the total number of confirmed AIDS cases reported since 1985.

The centre's Consultant Dr Wong Ka-hing said the predominant route of HIV transmission in the second quarter was still sexual contact.

Of the 98 new HIV cases - involving 80 men and 18 women - 20 acquired the infection through heterosexual contact, 35 through homosexual or bisexual contact, five through drug injection, one through a blood or blood-product infusion, and one through mother-to-child transmission. The transmission routes of the other 36 cases were undetermined.

The newly diagnosed cases were reported by public hospitals and clinics (43 cases), private hospitals and clinics (24), the department's AIDS counselling and testing service (12), and AIDS service organisations (10 cases).

The most common AIDS-defining illness was pneumocystis pneumonia, a kind of chest infection.

Dr Wong stressed the importance of using condoms and the practice of safer sex in reducing the risk of HIV infection. HIV is the cause of AIDS and, without treatment, half of the HIV-infected people will progress to AIDS within 10 years.