Hong Kong has long way to go to meet global hepatitis B elimination goal by 2030, health authorities say
- About 410,000 people, or 5.6 per cent of Hong Kong’s population, estimated to have been infected with virus
- WHO’s global hepatitis strategy, announced in 2016, aims to eliminate viral hepatitis as major public health threat by 2030
Hong Kong still has a long way to go to achieve an international goal of significantly reducing hepatitis B virus infections by 2030, authorities have said, warning the disease continues to remain a burden.
About 410,000 people, or 5.6 per cent of Hong Kong’s population, were estimated to have been infected with the virus, a moderate-to-high prevalence according to World Health Organization standards, an official from the Department of Health said on Tuesday.
“For hepatitis B, we’re yet to reach the 2030 goal set by WHO,” said Bonnie Wong Chun-kwan, a consultant to the department’s special prevention programme.
“A quite significant proportion of individuals with chronic hepatitis B infection [are] unaware of [their infection status].”
WHO’s global hepatitis strategy, announced in 2016, aims to eliminate viral hepatitis as a major public health threat by 2030, reducing new hepatitis infections by 90 per cent and related deaths by 65 per cent. It also aims to get 80 per cent of those infected treated by 2030.