Infectious diseases claimed 666 lives in China in October out of about 418,000 recorded cases, the Ministry of Health said here on Monday.

Last month, more than 318,612 cases of A-Class and B-Class infectious diseases occurred and claimed 660 lives. Of the 98,661 cases of C-Class infectious diseases recorded, there were six fatalities.

In October, the top five infectious diseases, accounting for 87.54 percent of the total amount of A- and B-Class diseases, were tuberculosis, hepatitis B, diarrhea, syphilis and gonorrhea.

The top five killers were rabies, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, AIDS and hepatitis C, according to the ministry.

Infectious diseases in China are classified into three categories by the country's Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases.

Accordingly, A-Class infectious diseases include only two diseases, namely plague and cholera; B-Class infectious diseases include 25 diseases, such as viral hepatitis and C-Class infectious diseases include 10 diseases, such as influenza.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2007)