Infectious diseases claimed 1,269 lives on the Chinese mainland in April, with over half of the deaths caused by the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said Tuesday.

Some 2,586 AIDS cases were reported on the mainland in April, of which 698 were fatal, a report posted on the MOH website said.

AIDS is categorized as a class B infectious disease by the MOH. In April, 337,311 cases of class B infectious disease were reported on the mainland. Of those, 1,089 were fatal.

Tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, syphilis, diarrhea and rubeola were the top five infectious diseases in the category in terms of number of cases.

No cases of plague or cholera were reported in April on the mainland, despite the 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Yushu. Both diseases are categorized as class A infectious diseases, the most severe category under China's Law on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases.

In addition, 180 of the 321,990 cases of class C infectious disease were fatal.

(Xinhua News Agency May 11, 2010)