China reports over 2,600 deaths from infectious diseases in December

A total of 2,636 people died of infectious diseases on the Chinese mainland in December 2019, according to Chinese health authorities.

There were nearly 1.71 million cases of infectious diseases reported on the mainland in December, figures from the National Health Commission showed.

There were no cases of Class A infectious diseases reported in December. Class A diseases, including cholera and the plague, are the most serious in China's law on the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.

A total of 288,739 cases were classified as Class B infectious diseases, resulting in 2,618 deaths. Viral hepatitis, tuberculosis, syphilis, scarlet fever and gonorrhea accounted for 94 percent of these cases.

Category C diseases caused 18 deaths in December. Influenza, infectious diarrhea as well as foot and mouth disease were the most prevalent in this category, accounting for 98 percent of the reported cases.