On April 10, the Ministry of Health disclosed details of infectious diseases nationwide for March 2007.

A total of 351,435 categories A and B infection cases were reported on the mainland resulting in 613 deaths.

Cases reported accounted for all 22 types of categories A and B infectious diseases except for plague, cholera, SARS, poliomyelitis, and diphtheria.

The most frequently reported disease was pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), followed by hepatitis B, syphilis, dysentery, and gonorrhea. These five accounted for 87.43 percent of reported cases.

TB was recorded as the deadliest infectious disease, with rabies, hepatitis B, AIDS, and infant tetanus, also causing a number of fatalities. 88.74 percent of deaths could be attributed to these diseases.

50,911 cases of category C infectious diseases were documented, leading to 7 deaths. Although no cases of filariasis were reported, infectious diarrhea, mumps, and German measles accounted for 91.75 percent of illnesses in this category.

During March, 11,176 cases of measles were detected indicating a 17.63 percent rise over last month. The first quarter of 2007 has seen a rapid increase in the number of measles and German measles cases with respective 30.38 and 33.29 percent rise over the same period of last year. Primary and high schools in some regions have reported widespread outbreaks of these diseases.

With the incidence of respiratory diseases rising in the spring season, the ministry urged local authorities to keep alert on infectious diseases and to strengthen surveillance on cases reported in schools.

(Ministry of Health, April 11, 2007)

Note:

The Chinese Ministry of Health classifies infectious diseases into categories A, B, and C based on the nature of the disease, transmission channel, and rate of infection. The most pandemic diseases -- including plague, cholera, and SARS -- fall into Category A. Category B diseases spread through more complicated channels and at a slower rate, including typhoid fever, dengue fever, and scarlatina. Category C represents the least infectious, including tuberculosis, snail fever, mumps, and leprosy.