A government-funded hepatitis screening policy for people born before 1986 would be expanded on Friday, adding nearly 2 million to those who are eligible, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said on Friday.
The previous policy, which has run since 2011, was for one free hepatitis B and C screening for people aged 45 to 79, HPA Director General Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) said.
The agency is making the change to align with the WHO’s goal of eradicating viral hepatitis by 2030, Wu said.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
Hepatitis B rates in Taiwan have dropped to 9.5 percent from 15.6 percent in 2011, while hepatitis C rates have fallen to 1.5 percent from 3.6 percent in the same period, the HPA said in a statement.
The results serve as “a solid foundation” to achieve the goal of eradicating hepatitis C in Taiwan this year, the statement said.
With screening and treatment, it is possible to fully recover from hepatitis C and mitigate the risk of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer, Wu said.
Daily habits are also vital to preventing hepatitis, the HPA said.
Hepatitis B transmits through contact with blood and other bodily fluids, which is why sharing personal items such as needles, toothbrushes and razors should be avoided, it said.
Hepatitis C transmits through blood-to-blood contact, and people should be cautious when getting ear piercings, tattoos and acupuncture therapies, it said.
With World Hepatitis Day tomorrow, the WHO called on nations to “dismantle the financial, social and systemic barriers — including stigma — that stand in the way of hepatitis elimination and liver cancer prevention.”
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS