China's Ministry of Health said on August 10 hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD), inoculation against measles and the construction of a mental health network are the priorities for its annual disease prevention plan.

Ministry spokesman Deng Haihua said in Beijing the ministry will closely supervise work in the three areas.

HFMD broke out in China in 2008 and the outbreak reached its peak this year. In June alone, 343,100 children were diagnosed with HFMD, double the number of the same period of last year, and 179 died from the disease.

In June, 5,815 cases of measles were reported and one case resulted in death.

This year's spate of violent assaults on school children and suicides by factory workers has raised concern about China's mental health network.

Apart from disease prevention and control, the ministry also vowed to promote rural health services as another major task.