This comment was really upsetting.
Please help us—Hepatatitis B carriers in china.
The chinese health department and the state media tell the public: The hepatitis B virus can be spread when you are sharing food ,eating utentils or water with Hepatitis B carriers. (unlike the western food, the chinese like to take the food from the same plate). The hepatitis B is a very high infectious disease.The hepatitis B carriers are not allowed to take the job as cooker, waiters and other job for public service. Only after I went to the WHO and other foreign website, I realized that the goverment is misleading the public.
Due to the outcry of Chinese Hepatitis B carriers, the central goverment was reluctant to abolish the regulation that the hepatitis B carriers are not allowed to take the job as public servant. BUt the Public servants are still requested to take the hepatitis B test before they become goverment employees. It shows the goverment care little about our labour right and privacy.
In china, most famous enterprises offer health examination to their employees(once a year). The hepatitis B test is surely included. The hepatitis B carriers will be fired or not be given a job offer.
One thing I have to point out is: almost all the international companies in china( of couse including the American companies) say NO to the hepatitis B carriers.
Most chinese people know little about the hepatitis B, they think It is an infectious disease, working or living with hepatitis B carriers is dangerous.But they don’t know the hepatitis B vaccinate is available.The goverment did little to let people know the vaccinate although we have 1200 millions carriers.
It is true that the hepatitis B carriers in china are in desperate.
help!!!!
The world is full of unfairness and inequity. But this is just so unnecessary, so tragic. The original post generated some of the most wrenching and heartbreaking emails I’ve ever received.
1
By pete
This kind of priority selection by PRC of choosing military spending over taking care of the health of the Chinese people really makes one wonder what kind of government is now controling China. (Actually I cannot see any country wanting to rule the Chinese. They are too many, the country is too big, the problems too enormous and the Chinese will resist.) So why would another country want to invade China, thus why does China maintain such a large military and increase its military spending by large percentages, when it could help the people who have HepatitisB or who will get it?
Students of Chinese history know of the belief that if the Son of Heaven cannot provide for the common people he will get the boot and some other worth will take the reins of government. It would seem that this alter ego government and the CCP may be tempting fate by not caring for the health of the people and providing some bit of the good life for the hundreds of millions of peasant, farmers and workers.
Perhaps Richard, you or someone else can explain the disease and its contagiousness, if any, or how it is transmitted.
April 3, 2005 @ 11:15 pm | Comment
2
By Mike
Hep B is a common blood-borne viral disease in China. A lot of pepole there acquire it in childhood and become immune. An unfortunate 5% will become asymptomatic carriers and risk passing it on to other people through blood [sex, blood transfusions, tatooing etc] – but there is minimal risk of passing on the disease by sharing the same dishes with chopsticks. In most western countries employers would not be allowed to discriminate against a hep B carrier unless it was a high risk occupation – dentist perhaps. It’s sad that China has this discrimination. There’s nothing you can do once you are a carrier. A vaccine [quite expensive] can protect you from getting the disease, and this is used in high risk groups in many western countries.
Should China vaccinate everyone against hep B? I don’t know – there’s a lot of other diseases they could potentially immunise against that would save a lot more lives. [TB, measles, Hib …] And it would be a huge task to try vaccinate 20 million new babies every year!
April 4, 2005 @ 4:34 am | Comment
3
By Hui Mao
Mike,
China already has a pretty extensive vaccination program. Children in China actually gets vaccinated against more diseases than those in the US and most Western countries. Not sure about the status of Hep. B vaccines though. It wasn’t part of the mandatory vaccination program when I was growing up, but don’t know if things have changed or not.
April 4, 2005 @ 2:09 pm | Comment
4
By richard
You’ll find some good information on the topic here. You can find more links, mainly in Chinese, here.
April 4, 2005 @ 3:20 pm | Comment
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By schtickyrice
HepA/B vaccines are readily available in North America and are a good idea before travelling to any part of the so-called third world. There needs to be better public education about HepB in much the same way as HIV. HepA on the other hand, can be transmitted by food and water, although the consequences are not as severe as HepB.
April 4, 2005 @ 7:20 pm | Comment