The first guideline for doctors and nurses to diagnose and treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) carriers was published Tuesday while doctors are calling for a rigid monitoring of the population at high risk of contracting HCV.

The Chinese Medical Association (CMA) published such a guideline for the first time to help medical workers detect, diagnose and treat HCV carriers as soon as possible by elaborating on the symptoms, infection and treatment of the epidemic and on how to detect those who are at high risk of the virus.

China has approximately 40 million HCV carriers, according to a national survey conducted in 1992 to 1995, one third of the carriers of the hepatitis B virus.

However, less than one third of the HCV carriers have been to hospital, said Zhuang Hui, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) from Peking University.

"These carriers will be a hidden hazard for the public health if they do not receive medical treatment in time," he said.

The population at high risk of HCV are not well monitored since doctors are not aware enough of the epidemic and some are not well informed of relevant knowledge, said Prof. Weng Xinhua, director of the Society of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases attached to the CMA.

He suggested that each high risk person be monitored for HCV.

HCV, which can lead to hepatitis and liver cancer, can be transmitted through blood, sex and from mother to child.

China has carried out HCV detection during blood donation since1992, which considerably reduced the transmission through blood donation and blood products.

In some regions in China, 60 to 90 percent of HCV infections resulted from sharing syringes among drug users, according to the CMA.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2004)