{"id":80417,"date":"2026-08-29T07:54:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T23:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=80417"},"modified":"2026-08-29T07:54:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T23:54:02","slug":"what-is-hepatitis-b-the-viral-infection-1-in-20-hongkongers-has-with-many-unaware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=80417","title":{"rendered":"What is hepatitis B? The viral infection 1 in 20 Hongkongers has, with many unaware"},"content":{"rendered":"


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David, who is in his forties and works in finance in Hong Kong, does not remember a life without hepatitis B, a viral infection of the liver.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been a \u2026 carrier for as long as I can remember,\u201d he says. \u201cI found out early on as a child since I was born with it \u2013 my mother is a carrier, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

David\u2019s experience is far from unusual in Hong Kong. According to Dr Loey Mak Lung-yi, a specialist in gastroenterology and hepatology, mother-to-child transmissions account for more than 90 per cent of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) cases in the city.<\/p>\n

About 410,000 people in Hong Kong have hepatitis B, according to the government\u2019s Viral Hepatitis Action Plan. Alarmingly, 40 per cent are completely unaware<\/span> of their infection and 70 per cent are not receiving appropriate medical follow-up care.<\/div>\n

Or as Hong Kong-based general practitioner Dr Wong Sze-man puts it: \u201cWhen you take transport during rush hour and see 20 people, one of them is infected and is a silent carrier of the virus.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Dr Wong Sze-man is a Hong Kong-based general practitioner. Photo: Marina Medical Clinic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The fact that so many people living with chronic hepatitis B infection are unaware of the condition puts David \u2013 who has known his hepatitis status his whole life \u2013 in an ironically fortunate position.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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