Carriers of hepatitis B virus are now allowed to work at kindergartens and nurseries on the Chinese mainland, under new guidelines on health and hygiene at kindergartens.

The Ministry of Health issued the document on Tuesday, revising guidelines dating from 1985 that barred people with hepatitis B from working at kindergartens.

"The revision is a symbol of a rising public awareness of the blood-borne infectious disease," said Jia Jidong, who leads the liver research center at Beijing Friendship Hospital.