World Hepatitis Day 2026
The World Health Organization has marked 28 July as “World Hepatitis Day” to promote and raise public awareness on hepatitis. This year the Department of Health (DH) adopts “1 in 20: Test and Manage Hep B Early” as the theme in 2026, to remind members of the public to undergo hepatitis B testing if they are uncertain about their infection status.
As derived from the findings of the Population Health Survey 2020-22 conducted by the DH, about 5.6% of the Hong Kong population (~410,000 people) have chronic hepatitis B (CHB) —that is, roughly one in every twenty people has CHB. Among them, 40 per cent are unaware of their condition and 70 per cent are not receiving appropriate medical follow-up.
People with CHB often shows no symptoms for decades until the liver is severely damaged. Without treatment, about 15-40% of people with CHB could develop serious complications, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. About 80% of people with primary liver cancer in Hong Kong have CHB.
Expanding access to screening, care and treatment is one of the four strategic axes in the Hong Kong Viral Hepatitis Action Plan 2025-2030 launched in December 2025. As set out in the Action Plan 2025-2030, a new risk-based hepatitis B screening programme would be introduced. In February 2026, Primary Healthcare Commission launched Hepatitis B Co-care Scheme to identify people with CHB in the community at an early stage and provide long-term follow-up services, with a view to reducing their risk of having cirrhosis, liver cancer and other serious complications. Please click here for more information about hepatitis B testing.
For related health educational materials, please click the links below:
- “What you need to know about hepatitis B” pamphlet
- “Healthy Living with Chronic Hepatitis B” pamphlet
- “Hepatitis B vaccine” pamphlet
- “Hepatitis B can cause cancer Get tested and treated early” poster
- Thematic page of “Hepatitis B”
- Video series of “Viral Hepatitis” on YouTube Channel of Centre for Health Protection
Health promotion events with District Health Centres and Expresses
Viral Hepatitis Control Office (VHCO), the DH collaborates with District Health Centre (DHC) and District Health Centre Express (DHCE) to conduct a series of health promotion events, which aim to raise public awareness on hepatitis B. These include exhibitions on “Hepatitis B virus infection” across all 18 DHCs and DHCEs, and interactive health promotion booths at 4 DHCs and DHCEs, including Sai Kung DHCE on 3 June, Shatin DHCE on 9 June, Eastern DHC on 26 June and Central & Western DHC on 3 July.
Health talk on “Basic knowledge of viral hepatitis”
Registered nurse from VHCO of the DH delivered an on-site health talk in CommunityHealth@SFU on 8 July 2026, sharing information on the prevalence of viral hepatitis in Hong Kong. It covered information on hepatitis A, B, C and promoted the importance of hepatitis B testing and medical follow-up.
Media briefing
A media briefing was conducted on 23 July 2026, featuring Consultant (Special Preventive Programme), the Department of Health, Dr. Bonnie Wong, a specialist in gastroenterology and hepatology, Dr. James Fung, and an individual living with CHB respectively. It showcased the achievements made in the prevention and control of viral hepatitis in the past 40 years, while appealing for early testing and management of hepatitis B in support of World Hepatitis Day.
