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

A total of 364,857 categories A and B infection cases were reported nationwide on the mainland resulting in 589 deaths.

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

Coming out as the most reported disease was pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), followed by hepatitis B, dysentery, syphilis and measles. These five accounted for 86.91 percent of reported cases.

Rabies was recorded as the deadliest infectious disease with TB, AIDS, hepatitis B, and epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis also causing a number of fatalities. 90.49 percent of deaths could be ascribed to these diseases.

81,015 cases of category C infectious diseases were seen, leading to 4 deaths. Infectious diarrhea, mumps, and German measles accounted for 93.36 percent of illnesses in this category.

(Ministry of Health, May 10, 2007)

Note:

Infectious diseases are classified into A, B and C in China based on nature, transmission channel and speed. The most pandemic diseases -- including plague, cholera and SARS -- fall into the Category A. Category B diseases spread in less easy channels and at a lower speed, including typhoid fever, dengue fever, scarlatina. Category C is for the least infectious, including tuberculosis, snail fever, mumps and leprosy.