Nearly 200 people caught hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in northeast China's Jilin Province in January, jumping 150 percent over the same period last year, according to the Jilin Provincial Health Bureau.

The province reported a total of 1,840 cases of HFRS last year, or 6.9 cases in every 100,000 people. It was the third highest frequency of any province in China.

Farmers account for 70 percent of the reported cases, with workers and students making up just 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Men are more often infected than women, with people between the ages of 25 and 45 accounting for half of all cases.

HFRS is caused by the hantavirus, which is spread by mice. Experts believe that poor sanitation may have led to an explosion in the Jilin rodent population. The situation is even worse in mountainous areas such as the Yanbian Autonomous Prefecture and the cities of Baishan and Tonghua.

"Several critical steps will be taken this year to solve the problems in the prevention and treatment of HFRS," said Li Dianfu, director of the Jilin Province Health Bureau.

In an effort to prevent the disease from spreading further, the bureau has issued emergency instructions to exterminate rodents. At the same time efforts are being made to protect those most susceptible to the disease.

As there is a tendency for the virus to spread from high-risk groups to the general population, Jilin Province will also monitor the incidence of HFRS among people and animals in six selected regions and step up prevention and awareness education.

The disease is at its most prevalent during April and May.

According to the Health A to Z Encyclopedia, 6 to 15 percent of people who contract HFRS worldwide do not survive. There is no cure for the virus itself, and according to the encyclopedia there is no vaccine.

(China.org.cn, China Daily March 22, 2005)