Infectious diseases claimed 741 lives in China in September with
nearly 486,000 cases recorded, including the first case of bubonic
plague this year, the Chinese Ministry of Health said on
Wednesday.
Infectious diseases in China are classified into three
categories by the country's Law on the Prevention and Treatment of
Infectious Diseases.
Last month, 349,630 cases of A-Class and B-Class infectious
diseases occurred, which claimed 735 lives, and 136,229 cases of
C-Class infectious diseases occurred, which claimed six lives.
In September, the top five infectious diseases, accounting for
87.45 percent of the total cases of A and B-Class diseases, were
tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diarrhea, syphilis and gonorrhea.
The top five killers were rabies, tuberculosis, AIDS, hepatitisB
and neonatal tetanus, according to the ministry.
The single case of bubonic plague occurred in northwest China's
Gansu Province in September, the first plague case reported so far
this year.
Plague, a fatal bacterial disease transmitted by fleas from
infected rats, can be contracted through inhaling airborne
particles and through close contact with infected rodents.
The most common form, the bubonic plague, results in high fever,
delirium and swollen lymph nodes.
According to the Law on the Prevention and Treatment of
Infectious Diseases, A-Class infectious diseases include only two
diseases, namely plague and cholera, B-Class infectious diseases
include 25 diseases such as viral hepatitis and C-Class infectious
diseases include ten diseases such as influenza.
(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2007)