Special report:   2008 Olympic Games     BEIJING, May 3 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Health (MOH) has urged local health bureaus to step up the prevention and control of infectious diseases ahead of the Olympics.

    The MOH issued a circular here on Saturday that ordered local bureaus to do their best to prevent and control infectious diseases, since mass outbreaks could easily occur at this time of year.

    Besides the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) that killed 22 children in eastern Anhui Province, the MOH ordered bureaus to increase surveillance of plague, cholera, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria and meningitis.

    Despite the overall progress made in controlling infectious diseases, epidemics have still broken out repeatedly in some regions, especially after unusual weather and population movements, the circu...

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