China warns of holes in anti-hepatitis fight

January 11, 2008

11 Jan 2008 03:09:02 GMT

Source: Reuters

BEIJING, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Too many people in China are still not being

inoculated against hepatitis B and the disease is having a devastating economic

impact, the Health Ministry said on Friday.

Though a vaccination campaign among new-born babies had brought infection rates

down for children under five, there was an " urgent need " to expand that to the

rest of the population, the ministry's official Health News said.

" The hepatitis B rate nationally remains high and is not going down, which has

brought with it enormous burdens, " the newspaper said, citing a government

meeting earlier in the week.

" Hepatitis B vaccinations urgently need to be expanded to people apart from

babies. "

China had almost 1 million cases of the disease, which cost the country an

annual average of 915 billion yuan ($125.8 billion), the report said.

China not only has a big problem fighting the disease, but with discrimination

against carriers.

By law, employers are not allowed to decline job applications or fire employees

on the grounds that they are infected unless their job might help spread the

virus, though in reality this is often ignored.

Many Chinese employers, including government offices across the country, have

made a negative hepatitis B test compulsory in recruiting new staff.

There have also been reports of schools expelling students found to be carrying

the virus. Symptoms include inflammation of the liver and jaundice and the

disease can be spread by contact with blood of, or unprotected sex with, an

infected person. ($1=7.271 Yuan) (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick

Macfie)

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