Nation sees progress in fight against hepatitis B

When a newborn's initial hepatitis B test results came back normal this month, medical workers at a child care hospital in Jinan, Shandong province, breathed a sigh of relief, celebrating a successful effort to prevent the transmission of the virus from the baby's infected mother.

The mother, surnamed Li, was diagnosed with hepatitis B when she was nine weeks pregnant during a routine checkup at a community healthcare center. Throughout her pregnancy, she took antiviral medication under the guidance of Jinan Maternity and Child Care Hospital. After birth, her baby received a hepatitis B vaccine and a preventive immunoglobulin injection within three hours — an essential part of the protocol to stop mother-to-child transmission.

The baby still requires two more vaccine doses to complete immunization. Gao Fengchun, the hospital's vice-president, said the institution will continue providing free tests to monitor the baby's infection status.

Li's case reflects the effectiveness of China's public health system in combating hepatitis B transmission from mothers to infants — a major cause of chronic infection in the country. In the early 1990s, about 10 percent of the population carried hepatitis B, which can lead to liver cirrhosis and cancer.

"Chronic hepatitis B primarily spread through mother-to-child transmission in the past, and the virus' high prevalence severely impacted the overall health of the Chinese population," said Wang Yu, chairman of the Chinese Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention and Control.

"After more than 30 years of continuous efforts, China has achieved decisive and historic success," he said at an event ahead of World Hepatitis Day, observed annually on July 28.

According to official data, the hepatitis B surface antigen carrier rate among children under age 5 dropped to 0.3 percent in 2020, down from 0.96 percent in 2006-well below the World Health Organization's 1 percent target for the Western Pacific region. Overall prevalence among the Chinese population declined to 5.86 percent in recent years, from 9.75 percent in 1992.

Key interventions have included antiviral therapy for pregnant women, timely newborn vaccinations and immunoglobulin injections for infants born to infected mothers. The National Health Commission said a nationwide program to prevent mother-to-child transmission was fully launched in 2015.

In addition to treatment and vaccinations, China offers screening and counseling for all pregnant women, as well as follow-up monitoring for those who test positive. Children born to infected mothers are tested one to two months after completing the full series of preventive measures.

From 2011 to 2024, the hepatitis B testing rate among pregnant women increased from 89 percent to 99 percent. In 2024 alone, 9.45 million pregnant women were screened, and 397,000 tested positive. The immunoglobulin injection rate for infants born to infected mothers reached 99.9 percent last year.

"With our current technological capabilities and healthcare service coverage, we can protect every newborn from infection," Wang said.

Li Qun, deputy director general of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said declining infection rates among women of childbearing age signal that China is moving toward the WHO's 2030 goal of eliminating mother-to-child transmission. He credited the country's strong obstetric system and near-universal hospital delivery rate for enabling timely immunization.

"We must stick to the strategy of administering the first vaccine dose within 24 hours of birth — and within 12 hours for newborns of infected mothers," he said. "We also plan to share our experiences and cost-effective vaccination strategies with the global community."

Martin Taylor, the WHO representative to China, praised the country's progress in hepatitis control, noting a 99 percent reduction in child infections through vaccination and a drop in drug prices due to government-led negotiations with pharmaceutical companies.

Despite the gains, China still has 75 million chronic hepatitis B patients — the leading causes of liver cancer in the country.

Xia Gang, deputy director of the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration, said China plans to expand screening programs in developed regions, improve standardized treatment coverage, and strengthen chronic disease management to reduce complications such as liver cirrhosis and cancer.