More than 601,703 cases of infectious diseases were reported on the Chinese mainland in August, and they resulted in 1,379 deaths, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Health on Monday. A total of 343,201 cases identified as Class B infectious diseases by the MOH were reported on the mainland in the month, of which 1,338 were fatal, the ministry said. Class B infectious diseases number 25 and include AIDS, tuberculosis and dysentery. Hepatitis, tuberculosis, syphilis, dysentery and gonorrhea were the top five killers, causing 96 percent of the deaths from class B diseases. Eighteen cholera cases were reported, but they did not result in any deaths. No cases of plague were reported. Both diseases are categorized as Class A infectious diseases, the most serious, under China's Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases. Category C infectious diseases left 41 people dead in August, and the three most frequently reported diseases were foot-and-mouth disease, infectious diarrhea and mumps, Xinhua quoted the statement as saying.
