Cui Fuqiang, director of the office of viral hepatitis at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that the Ministry of Health would no longer test for hepatitis B in conventional medical examinations.
However, Deng Haihua, a spokesman for the Ministry, clarified that this did not represent an official statement, but was just an expert opinion.
Some 100 million people are infected with hepatitis B in China, and there is widespread discrimination against them. They find it very hard to enter kindergarten, school, or get a job.
Fighting against discrimination on hepatitis B is also difficult for many reasons.
For example, the current cost to employers who break the related law is only a fine of 1,000 yuan ($146), and many medical centers prefer cooperating with employers in return for financial rewards rather than implementing governmental policies.
In order to eliminate discrimination on hepatitis B, the government should aim to further medical literacy and promoting the implementation of anti-discrimination policies, such as formulating and implementing laws and regulations to protect hepatitis B patients and pursuing more public control.
We hope for such action in the near future.
Chongqing Times
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment