Public 'lacks awareness' of hepatitis B

HONG KONG: Despite being aware that hepatitis B can lead to liver cancer, many carriers of the disease have not been properly screened for the virus nor do they know how to manage their condition, a survey by the Chinese University of Hong Kong has revealed.

Between May and July, medical researchers at the university's Center for Liver Health interviewed 3,318 people aged 15 to 64. Based on their findings, which were published yesterday, they estimated that as many as 58 percent of people have never taken a hepatitis B virus test.

They also suggested that 5 percent of the population were related to someone with hepatitis B, placing them at a high risk of becoming infected themselves.