Hong Kong aims to achieve a 90-percent diagnosis and an 80-percent cure rate for hepatitis B and C diseases -- the major causes of liver cancer -- by 2030, along with stronger preventive measures to curb new infections and fatalities.

A large-scale hepatitis B screening program will be launched next year, targeting priority groups for screening and long-term management – an initiative that’s expected to benefit 300,000 people -- as part of the city’s Hong Kong Viral Hepatitis Action Plan (2025-2030) announced on Tuesday.

It will be Hong Kong’s second such roadmap, building on the previous 2020–2024 edition and incorporating the special administrative region’s latest conditions and experiences, as well as updated guidelines from the World Health Organization.

READ MORE: Hong Kong unveils first action plan to reduce viral hepatitis

Bonnie Wong Chun-Kwan, a consultant on special preventive programs at the Public Health Services Branch of the Centre for Health Protection, said the authorities aim to make Hong Kong a society free from the burden of hepatitis through these plans.

Besides raising the diagnosis and cure rates, the SAR is committed to reducing the annual number of new hepatitis B and C infections to less than two and five per 100,000 people, respectively, and cutting annual hepatitis B and C-related deaths to below six per 100,000 people.

Wong stressed the critical importance of the screening and long-term management for hepatitis B and C, describing the move as “tackling liver cancer at its source”.

She noted that, currently, about 5.6 percent of the local population have  the hepatitis B virus -- a sharp drop from about 10 percent in the 1970s – after decades of painstaking efforts to combat the disease. However, risks persist as about 75 to 80 percent of liver cancer cases are linked to chronic hepatitis B infections.

By 2023, liver cancer had become Hong Kong’s third-deadliest cancer, with 1,408 deaths recorded.

According to Wong, the city’s biggest challenge in eliminating hepatitis B as a public health threat is that about 40 percent of those infected are unaware of their condition, and 70 percent have never received follow-up medical care. Therefore, the Department of Health, the Hospital Authority and the Primary Healthcare Commission will continue to collaborate, especially in raising public awareness, strengthening surveillance, preventing mother-to-child and other transmission routes, and expanding screening and follow-up treatment.

To achieve this, the Primary Healthcare Commission will launch a new screening program in 2026 to “help patients receive early diagnosis and treatment, preventing their condition from becoming more serious, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer,” said Christy Lam Yu-yuk, assistant commissioner for primary healthcare of the Health Bureau.

READ MORE: Govt report estimates 410,000 HK people infected with HBV

The screening and management will be jointly provided by District Health Centers and family doctors, targeting priority groups, including residents born before 1988, when the universal childhood hepatitis B vaccination program was implemented citywide, as well as those with family members or sexual partners who are hepatitis B patients.

Further details, including a specific timeline, co-payment amounts and coverage for subsidized drug and further therapy, will be announced early next year. The program is expected to benefit about 300,000 people.

Lam said those who test positive in the initial screening will be referred to family doctors for further examination. Once a confirmed diagnosis is made, patients will be offered long-term, government subsidized therapy and follow up care.

Contact the writer at amberwu@chinadailyhk.com