Recently, the WHO released for the first time a testing guide for hepatitis B and hepatitis C. The guide suggests that drug addicts, sex workers, and homosexuals should take rapid diagnostic tests.

People who are vulnerable to hepatitis B and hepatitis C such as users of injected drugs, HIV infected persons, children whose mothers are infected with hepatitis B or hepatitis C, and viral hepatitis infected persons should be listed as focused groups to be tested.

According to the WHO, there are about 300 million people infected with hepatitis B and hepatitis C, but less than five percent of them have been tested and the virus hepatitis has caused 1.4 million deaths. The guide defines which people should receive testing and where and how to do the testing. It simplifies the testing method and gives treatment recommendations for people who test positive.

Mark Bartlett, who is in charge of the WHO’s global liver disease program, praised China's achievements in hepatitis prevention and control, especially the hepatitis B vaccination in Chinese children.

"China's health departments provide services for preventing the maternal-neonatal transmissions of hepatitis B, syphilis, and AIDS to all the pregnant women in China, which effectively safeguards maternal and child health,"Bartlett said.

Dr Bernhard Schwartländer, a WHO representative in China, said that the guide is meaningful to China, "People who receive testing can detect the infection as soon as possible, and taking effective treatments at an early stage can stop liver disease from worsening."

The guide is a continuation file that WHO recently released for the prevention, care, and treatment of chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C.