[Progress in prevention and control of viral hepatitis since the establishing of the People's Republic of China].

China has the highest disease burden of viral hepatitis. After understanding the epidemic characteristics of viral hepatitis in China and putting forward scientific prevention and control strategies, the Chinese government has been effectively practicing the policy of "prevention first with combination of prevention and control". Over the past 40 years, China has taken effective measures to promote vaccination, strengthen blood screening, standardize diagnosis and treatment services and strengthen supervision, and achieved remarkable success. The incidence of hepatitis A decreased from 52.6 per 100,000 in 1990 to 1.38 per 100,000 in 2019, the HBsAg prevalence among children under 5 years of age decreased from 9.67% in 1992 to 0.32% in 2014, and the cure rate of chronic hepatitis C patients has reached more than 95%. The incidence of hepatitis E is also on the decline. However, in 2019, the estimated diagnosis rate for hepatitis B patients is 25% and treatment rate is 17%; hepatitis C diagnosed rate is 30% and only 9% of the diagnosed were treated. This still falls far from the target of 90% diagnosis rate and 80% treatment rate by 2030. Relevant policies should be implemented as soon as possible, health promotion should be carried out, and screening and diagnosis and treatment services should be strengthened to promote timely treatment for more chronically infected people.