Nobel Prize winner: A vaccine against hepatitis C is on the way

Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB

According to Nobel Prize winner Michael Houghton, a vaccine that protects against hepatitis C is under development and could be in use within five years.

Last year, the British professor was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine along with Americans Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice for discovering the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in 1989.

Houghton is now releasing more details on the development of the vaccine to protect against hepatitis C. According to Medical Express, he says that the vaccine could be in use within five years.

Hepatitis C is a viral disease that can have a chronic course with a risk of liver damage and liver cancer in up to 80% of those infected if left untreated. Many people do not know that they are infected because it can take many years before the symptoms develop.

Millions of cases detected each year

Worldwide, up to 2 million new cases of HCV infection are detected each year, but it is estimated that around 70 million people are carriers, most of them without knowing it.

It is estimated that around 400,000 people die of HCV annually.

The Norwegian Directorate of Health’s goal is for Hepatitis C to be eliminated as a public health problem in Norway and be reduced by 90% by 2023. The goal globally is the same reduction by 2030, as well as to reduce mortality by 65%.

“There is no doubt that a vaccine is needed to help the world reach its ambitious goal,” Houghton, who is developing the vaccine with colleagues at the Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute at the University of Alberta, noted.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

Do you have a news tip for Norway Today? We want to hear it. Get in touch at [email protected]

Be the first to comment on "Nobel Prize winner: A vaccine against hepatitis C is on the way"

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*