Infectious diseases kill 1,477 in China in September

A total of 1,477 people died of infectious diseases on the Chinese mainland in September, showed official data released on Tuesday.

Some 606,571 cases of infectious diseases were reported last month, said the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) in a statement.

Among them, three cases of cholera were reported but none caused death. Cholera is categorized as Class A, the most serious category.

In addition, about 305,540 cases identified as Class B infectious diseases resulted in 1,450 deaths. Viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, syphilis, dysentery and dengue accounted for 92 percent of the cases in this category, the statement said.

Category C infectious diseases claimed 27 lives in September, with foot-and-mouth disease, infectious diarrhea, and mumps reported most frequently.

In the first nine months of this year, infectious diseases killed 11,989 people, down one percent year on year, though the number of cases reported was up 15 percent, according to the NHFPC.

Dengue fever cases have been largely found in southern China. As of Monday, the total number of cases reached 31,136.