More than 1,000 Chinese died of infectious diseases in October, slightly more than in September, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

AIDS, rabies, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and new-born tetanus were the top five killers, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the deaths, it said.

In October, almost 330,000 cases of class A and B infectious diseases occurred and claimed 1,027 lives. Of the 120,000 cases of class C infectious diseases recorded, 14 were fatal.

Almost 950 people died of infectious diseases nationwide in September.

The most serious infectious diseases including plague and cholera fall into class A; class B comprises 25 diseases such as viral hepatitis; and class C covers common and less severe diseases including influenza.

Southwest China, which was hit by the May 12 earthquake that left 87,000 dead and missing and millions homeless, reported no widespread infectious disease outbreak in October, the ministry said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 10, 2008)