BEIJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- China increased its pace of development of new treatments for Hepatitis C in support of the World Health Organization goal of eliminating viral hepatitis by 2030.

Zhuang Hui of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and honorary director of the Chinese Society of Hepatology said that effective anti-virals will enable more patients to be cured.

China has nearly 10 million Hepatitis C patients. In 2017, about 240,000 new patients were diagnosed.

Zhuang said China's standard treatment for Hepatitis C -- peginterferon -- is ineffective and has side effects, low tolerance and a long treatment cycle, leading to a low rate of treatment for Hepatitis C patients.

In 2017, several new Hepatitis C treatments were approved by China's health authority.

Zhuang hopes that they will be covered by China's health insurance as soon as possible.

Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by Hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver. During the initial infection, people often have mild or no symptoms, but over many years, it often leads to liver disease and occasionally cirrhosis.