Post-SARS, infection rates in China have steadied, but fast-growing and common infections now need attention
A new study, conducted by researchers at Zhejiang University, China and published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases , is the first to report long-term infectious disease trends in China since the SARS outbreak and tracks 45 diseases over ten years in roughly 1.3 billion people, with data from the national notifiable infectious diseases report database. From 2004 to 2013, there were almost 55 million infectious disease cases and more than 132500 deaths as a result. Overall, the incidence of cases per year increased between 2004 and 2013 from 300.5 cases in every 100000 people in 2004, to 483.6 cases per 100000 in 2013. However, the pace slowed from 2009 onwards -- with the annual percentage increase of incidence going from 6.2% in 2004-2008 to 2.3% between 2009-2013. Deaths showed a similar trend, with the research showing a stable death rate after 2009. The authors of the study propose that these improvements come as a result of a number of measures implemented in recent y...