Hepatitis B tests for jobs set to stop

The central government is set to stop the decades-old practice of hepatitis B (HB) screening in pre-enrollment/employment medical examinations to root out widespread discrimination against millions of carriers in the country.

Mao Qun'an, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said an inter-ministerial regulation will stipulate school and job applicants will no longer need to test for HB before enrolment or employment - a requirement which has been in place since the early 1990s.

But he declined to specify when the regulation would come into force.