On September 10, the Ministry of Health disclosed details regarding infectious diseases nationwide for August 2007.

In the Chinese mainland a total of 408,714 cases were reported in categories A and B infection, resulting in 806 deaths.

Cases reported accounted for all 22 types of categories A and B infectious diseases excepting plague, SARS, poliomyelitis, human bird flu, and diphtheria.

The most prevalent disease reported was pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), followed by hepatitis B, dysentery, syphilis and gonorrhea. These five diseases accounted for 86.55 percent of the reported cases.

Rabies was recorded as the deadliest infectious disease with TB, AIDS, hepatitis B and epidemic encephalitis B also causing a number of fatalities. 91.19 percent of deaths could be ascribed to the above diseases.

130,919 cases of category C infectious diseases were recorded, leading to 13 deaths. The top three cases were infectious diarrhea, epidemic mumps, and acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis, accounting for 97.14 percent of the illnesses in this category.

(Ministry of Health, September 11, 2007)

Note:
Infectious diseases are classified into A, B, and C in China based on nature, transmission channel, and speed. The most pandemic diseases – including plague, cholera, and SARS – fall into Category A. Category B diseases spread in less easy channels and at a lower speed, including typhoid fever, dengue fever, and scarlatina. Category C contains the least infectious, including tuberculosis, snail fever, mumps, and leprosy.