චීනයේ හෙපටයිටිස් B පැතිරීම අඩුවෙයි

China's hepatitis B infection rate drops to 5.86 pct

China's viral hepatitis infection rate has continuously dropped thanks to extensive vaccine projects and other preventive measures, said an expert of the Chinese Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention and Control in an interview with the China Media Group in Beijing on Wednesday.

"Nationwide, the infection rate of hepatitis B virus among general population has dropped to 5.86 percent, over 50 percent lower than that before we launched vaccine projects and implemented preventive measures. Before we launched the hepatitis B vaccine project, the infection rate in newborns was close to 10 percent or even higher. In 2016, we lowered the positivity rate in children under age five to one percent, a threshold set by the World Health Organization for the Western Pacific Region. Now we have lowered the rate to 0.3 percent," said Wang Yu, director general of the foundation.

According to the latest epidemiological survey, there are now about 75 million people infected with hepatitis B virus in China. In 1992, the infections were as high as 120 million. After the implementation of effective preventive and control measures, the infections went down to 86 million in 2014.

The Hepatitis B vaccine project covers 99 percent of the newborns in China and antiviral therapy for Hepatitis C patients claims a cure rate of over 95 percent in the country.

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