Hong Kong expands fight against hepatitis B. But how many hidden cases are there?

2026-01-26 - 13:50

A government-subsidised screening and treatment programme set to launch next month is expected to identify about 23,000 hidden cases of chronic hepatitis B in Hong Kong, as part of a bigger plan to eliminate the public health threat within five years. Health authorities said on Monday that the “Hepatitis B Co-care Scheme” would cover people born in Hong Kong in or before 1988 with “first-degree family members” or sexual partners who had already contracted the virus, as they were deemed to be the...