Infectious diseases claimed 668 lives in China in February out of more than 300,000 recorded cases, according to the Ministry of Health.

Last month, 261,028 cases of A- and B-Class infectious diseases occurred and claimed 662 lives. Of the 44,590 cases of C-Class infectious diseases recorded, there were six fatalities.

In February, the top five infectious diseases, accounting for 88.40 percent of the total cases of A and B-Class diseases, were tuberculosis, hepatitis B, measles, syphilis and diarrhea.

The top five killers, accounting for 88.82 percent of the total lives claimed by A and B-Class diseases, were AIDS which claimed 198 lives, tuberculosis 147 lives, rabies 139 lives, hepatitis B 84 lives and epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis 20 lives.

Three human cases of bird flu were reported last month leading to three people's death.

In January, infectious diseases claimed 571 lives out of nearly 370,000 recorded cases. However, in Feburary last year there were 432 people's death out of nearly 240,000 recorded cases.

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

Diseases, 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 ten diseases such as influenza.

(Xinhua News Agency March 12, 2008)