Forty-one killed from rabies this year in China's worst-hit city

BEIJING, Aug 5 (AFP) - A total of 41 people have died from rabies in the south Chinese city Maoming, which has emerged as the worst-hit area from a recent outbreak of the fatal disease, state media said Tuesday.

The fatalities were recorded in the period from early January to late July in the city, located in Guangdong province, the Xinhua news agency said on its website, citing the Maoming health bureau.

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The agency did not provide data for all of Guangdong, but repeated a previously published figure saying that 74 throughout the province had contracted the disease as of June 30.

Governments at various levels in the province have stepped up precautionary measures, including the organized killing of stray dogs and the immunization of local residents.

More than 10,000 people have been organized to hunt stray dogs, killing 18, 946 over the past month, the report said.

Rabies is a serious, fatal disease that can be transmitted by dogs, cats, livestock and certain wild animals and birds.

Guangdong, where the SARS virus originated, has also witnessed a "mini-outbreak" of encephalitis B since the end of April.

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