I、General Situation of the Epidemics
In the 51st week of 2008 (0:00, Dec. 22 to 24:00, Dec. 28), 1345 cases of 15 legal infectious diseases with seven cases of death (hepatitis B) were reported in 18 districts and counties under the Beijing Municipality. Among them are 857 cases of nine categories of Type B Infectious Diseases, 0.46% lower than last week and 28.58% lower than the same period of last year respectively; the top five diseases reported are as follows: tuberculosis, dysentery, hepatitis B, syphilis and scarlatina; 488 cases of six categories of Type C, 18.94% lower than last week and 33.51% lower than the same period of last year respectively.

II、Major Epidemics

1. Measles
Eight cases of measles were reported in the city this week, two cases more than the previous week and one more than the same period of last year. Children under 5 years old hold majority.

2. Chicken Pox
463 cases of chickenpox were reported this week, 6.08% lower than the previous week and 7.40% lower than the same period of last year. The top five districts and counties reporting the most incidence rates are Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengtai, Changping and Fangshan, accounting for 65.01% of the total cases reported; those infected are mainly students and preschool pupils, accounting for 85.53% of the total cases reported.

III、Report of Non-professional Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
110 cases were reported in the city this week, from which 130 people were poisoned and four died.

IV、Key Notes
Recently, chickenpox continues to have a high incidence in our city. In response, we prompt the city's primary and secondary schools, nurseries and kindergartens should strictly enforce the Work Norm of Epidemics Report on Infectious Diseases in Schools and implement the regulation of inspecting in the morning and the early afternoon; the Institution for Disease Prevention and Control in each district and county should pay close attention to chickenpox epidemic in the local area, especially in regions with more ecdemic children. Once there is an outbreak, institutions should adopt timely comprehensive prevention and control measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic.

At present, our city has entered the peak period of influenza morbidity. In the recent two weeks, influenza-like cases in our city have increased markably, and influenza virus isolation rate among patients has also increased. We request the attention of the general public to the cold weather. Please keep well ventilated indoors, increase outdoor activities and take more physical exercise when the weather is appropriate, and avoid overcrowded places.