Over 17,300 die in China last year due to infectious diseases

Infectious diseases, like AIDS and rabies, have killed 17,315 people across the Chinese mainland in 2012, about 1,500 more than previous year, the Ministry of Health said here today.
The top six infectious diseases which affected people were AIDS, tuberculosis, rabies, viral hepatitis, hand-foot-mouth disease and epidemic hemorrhagic fever, the ministry said in a statement.
About 41,929 AIDS cases were reported last year resulting in the death of 11,575 people while the number of deaths caused by tuberculosis (2,662), rabies (1,361), viral hepatitis (747) and epidemic hemorrhagic fever (104), all dropped from 2011.
Nearly seven million infectious disease cases were reported on the Chinese mainland, the statement said.

A total of 75 cholera cases were reported on the mainland, with no fatalities while Bubonic plague claimed one life.
Both diseases are categorised as Class A infectious diseases under the Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases.

About 3.2 million Class B infectious disease cases were reported, with 16,720 fatalities.
Viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, syphilis, dysentery and gonorrhea were the most prevalent Class B infectious diseases, the statement said.
About 3.7 million Class C infectious disease cases were reported, with 594 fatalities, 567 of which were caused by hand-foot-mouth disease, it said.