Forum discusses hepatitis prevention

China should accelerate the integration of disease prevention, diagnosis and clinical treatment to reduce the burden caused by hepatitis B and maximize the cost-effectiveness of healthcare expenditures, public health experts said at a recent forum.

The closed-door forum, held on Aug 22 on the sidelines of the Third Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Senior Officials' Meeting in Dalian, Liaoning province, brought together government officials, researchers, international organizations and industry leaders to discuss how integrated care models could reinforce health resilience and support sustainable economic growth.

The talks came as China implements an action plan for viral hepatitis, aiming to strengthen newborn vaccination against strains A and B and reduce the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen in children under 5 to 0.2 percent by 2030.

While China has made substantial strides in curbing new infections through nationwide infant immunization, a large base of existing carriers necessitates an end-to-end service continuum spanning screening, diagnosis, treatment and long-term follow-up, experts said.

Jiang Jianmin, deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said no single medical technology or clinical intervention would be sufficient to achieve elimination goals.

Services should instead be stratified by individual risk levels and linked across the entire continuum of care, she said.

Chen Zhongdan, a technical officer at the World Health Organization's China office, said global efforts to eliminate viral hepatitis still face gaps in diagnosis and treatment coverage, as well as disparities in access.

Chen called for hepatitis services to be integrated into primary healthcare networks and universal health coverage systems.

Experts also highlighted the prevention of mother-to-child transmission as a prime area where coordination yields high returns.

GSK, the sole innovative pharmaceutical company invited to the forum, said it continues to advance treatments for chronic hepatitis B while supporting efforts to build integrated prevention-and-treatment ecosystems.