BEIJING, May 7 -- The number of deaths and serious injuries caused by adverse reaction to medical equipment increased by 46.9 percent in 2013 from 2012, said the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) here Wednesday.

A total of 75 people died in 2013, down from 104 in 2012, but those suffering serious injuries increased from 23,444 in 2012 to 34,524 in 2013, said an annual report issued by the administration.

The report attributed the increase partly to the development of the monitoring network, which led to more reports being filed.

The CFDA received more than 230,000 adverse reaction reports of medical equipment, up 31.7 percent from that of 2012.

In about 70 percent of adverse reaction cases, the equipment was operated by medical professionals while in 11.2 percent of the cases, equipment was operated by patients themselve