Rabies has killed 312 people in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the south from January to September, a 152.9 percent rise over the total rabies cases in 2002, according to the regional department of health.

The figures show the impact of the growing number of pets in the country, which has long been ravaged by the infectious diseases.

Local medical experts blamed the public's weak awareness of vigilance and the low vaccination rate among the dogs as the major causes of the deadly infection.

"The increase in pet ownership in Guangxi's urban and rural areas was the major cause of the rapid rise in rabies cases," said Yang Jinye, deputy director of Guangxi Diseases Prevention and Control Center.

The stray dogs in the rural areas also add to the risk of people getting bitten, according to the official.

There are currently some 6.2 million dogs in Guangxi, of which less than 20 percent have been immunized from the rabies virus, he said.

A serious, fatal disease that can be transmitted by dogs, cats, livestock and certain wild animals and birds, rabies infects and kills thousands of people every year in China.

Rabies, called "mad dog disease," has become the most dangerous infectious killer in the country, well surpassing diseases like SARS , pulmonary tuberculosis, AIDS and anthrax.

The ministry's statistics show only 854 deaths from rabies were reported in 2001 and the figure rose rapidly to 1,003 in 2002. Some feared the toll might continue to rise this year since rabies outbreaks had ravaged provinces like Guangdong, Hainan, Hunan and Jiangsu this summer.

China has loosened restrictions on pets as more and more people in the nation began to raise dogs as pets or guards.

Beijing's dog lovers could have restrictions on their pets relaxed and registration fees lowered after a new regulation approved by the municipal government on September 5.

Registration fees of 5,000 yuan (US$604) in the first year and 2,000 yuan (US$241.93) a year thereafter have been lowered to 1,000 yuan (US$120.96) and 500 yuan (US$60.48).

(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2003)