The average lifespan for Shanghai people reached 81.08 last year - the first time it has passed 81.

Infant mortality was three in 1,000 and the pre and post-natal mortality rate for women was 6.68 in 100,000, according to statistics for 2007 just issued by the Shanghai Health Bureau.

The statistics indicate people's health and physical situation is improving, and Shanghai is in line with developed countries, officials said.

The incidence of serious infectious diseases was kept to the lowest-ever level of 207.91 in every 100,000 persons last year. Shanghai hospitals and medical staff had a busy year in 2007. Medical facilities provided 132.17 million out-patient and emergency services and 647,000 surgical procedures for hospitalized patients, both increasing by about 13 percent on 2006.

Medical services at the 228 neighborhood health centers were stepped up, involving 1,190 teams of general practitioners and a health database covering 1.7 million families. Health supervision agencies detected 10,849 cases of illegal medical practice in 2007, shutting 3,369 illegal clinics, withdrawing the licenses of four facilities and collecting 16.91 million yuan (US$2.36 million) in fines and confiscated profits.