BEIJING - A total of 1,710 people died as a result of infectious diseases on the Chinese mainland in December 2014, with HIV/AIDS being the top cause of death, according to health authorities on Tuesday.

Last month, 1,440 people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) died, according to a statement on the National Health and Family Planning Commission's website.

The second highest cause of death was tuberculosis, which killed 141 people.

In total, 556,111 people tested positive for infectious disease on the Chinese mainland last month, according to the statement.

No cases of Class-A infectious diseases, which includes the plague and cholera, were reported.

Of December's total, 283,364 cases were Class B infectious diseases, with Hepatitis; tuberculosis; syphilis; gonorrhea; and scarlet fever, accounting for 92 percent of cases in this category.

The statement said category C infectious diseases claimed 15 lives in August, with infectious diarrhea, foot-and-mouth disease and influenza reported most frequently.