A province in central China reported 437 cases of encephalitis in July, including 14 deaths, according to a news website on Thursday.

A baby cries when injected the encephalitis B vaccine at a hospital in Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi Province August 14, 2006.

The infections were reported in Henan Province and the outbreak appears to have passed its peak, according to Sina.com, one of China's largest news portals.

The brief report did not give details of the cases or say what caused the outbreak.

Encephalitis is typically a mosquito-borne disease that causes an inflammation of membranes around the brain. Symptoms include high fever, seizures and headaches.

Last week, Shaanxi Province reported seven deaths from the disease, while at least 19 people in the neighboring province of Shanxi were killed in an outbreak also in July.

Another 65 people have been infected in Shanxi, state media has said.

(China Daily August 25, 2006)