Chinese civil servants will no longer face hepatitis B tests in pre-employment physical examinations, according to revised standards jointly issued by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

On Feb. 10, the two ministries and the Ministry of Education jointly released a circular, demanding the cancellation of the hepatitis B test during the health check for school enrollment and employment nationwide.

The move came after Chinese job hunters, including those seeking government posts, have long complained of discrimination on the grounds of hepatitis B.

The State Administration of Civil Service said Thursday that the revised standards for civil servants' physical examinations specify that a previous compulsory special test for HBV (hepatitis B virus) carriers should no longer be conducted and all items targeting hepatitis B should be removed from hepatitis-related tests.

Medical tests show that HBV can only be transmitted from mother to child during childbirth or by contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person.

By April 2008, China reported about 93 million people, or about seven percent of its total population, carrying hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), the earliest indicator of acute hepatitis B.

(Xinhua News Agency March 19, 2010)