No major outbreak of epidemic diseases or other public health threats had been reported in the quake-stricken areas as of 9:00 PM Monday, the Ministry of Health said in Beijing on Tuesday.

To restore the major epidemic and public health threat reporting system at an early date, the ministry has utilized mobile phones instead of its direct reporting network to report, according to the ministry.

The ministry will immediately distribute 400 mobile phones equipped with epidemic reporting software and positioning systems to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan.

The mobile phone epidemic reporting system will cover a population of 10 million within 10 days, the ministry said.

Beginning on Monday, the ministry would dispatch 500 more health and epidemic prevention workers each day for five days to the quake areas, and 1,000 health supervisors would be deployed by May 23.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has printed 5.3 million brochures for the quake areas.

The death toll in China's devastating 8-magnitude earthquake rose to 34,073 as of Monday noon, while another 245,108 people were injured, according to the earthquake relief headquarters of the State Council.

(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2008)