Rabies killed more people in China than any other infectious disease for the fifth consecutive month in September.

There were 318 deaths caused by rabies last month while 393 people were reported bitten by rabid animals. The incidence of the disease is up 36.93 percent from last September, the Ministry of Health said Tuesday.

September is the fifth month rabies has topped the list of most deadly infectious disease. Prior to May tuberculosis topped the list.

China has recorded 2,254 rabies cases in the first nine months of the year, an increase of 29.69 percent over the same period last year.

The ministry called for better monitoring and detection of outbreaks of rabies across the country.

"People should seek immediate treatment from hospitals if they are scratched or bitten by a dog, " warned Mao Qun'an, spokesman of the ministry.

Rabies, often spread by dog bites, attacks the nervous system and is fatal in humans if not treated prior to the on-set of symptoms.

Rabies emerged as top public health priority three months ago as rabies caused the deaths of three people in southwest China's Yunnan Province and local authorities in Yunnan and Shandong provinces sought to curb the risk through mass killings of dogs.

Beijing launched a week-long campaign to clamp down on unlicensed dog breeding with the goal of preventing an outbreak of rabies. No urban resident in Beijing has contracted the disease this year.

China ranks second in the world after India in the number of reported cases of rabies, according to the ministry.

Every year more than 50,000 people around the world die of the disease, most of them are from developing countries.

(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2006)