A court in east China's Wuhu City upheld the first ruling in a hepatitis B discrimination case, saying that the Wuhu Personnel Affairs Bureau discriminated against hepatitis B carriers, the China News Service reported Monday.

Zhang Xianzhu, the hepatitis B carrier, sued the bureau in November 2003 after he was denied a government job because of the virus.

The People's Court of Xinwu District in Wuhu ruled on April 2 that the bureau did not follow provincial standards when it said a man with hepatitis B could not be a public servant.

Hepatitis B carriers can be separated into several categories based on the specific virus and its potential to spread. Zhang does not belong to the seven groups mentioned in Anhui's provincial health standards as not qualified for public service.

Therefore, the Xinwu court said the Wuhu Personnel Affairs Bureau could not deny Zhang's application.

The case attracted much public attention because it was the country's first case involving the rights of hepatitis B carriers.

The Xinwu court upheld Zhang's discrimination claim, yet inexplicably did not accede to his request to order the government to find him a job.

The bureau appealed, insisted that its administrative behavior towards Zhang did not violate any rules.

Experts estimate there are more than 100 million hepatitis B carriers in China, and many were subjected to discrimination when seeking a job.

(Shenzhen Daily June 1, 2004)