October 2020 has begun with some excellent breakthrough discovery news, this year Nobel Prize season the announcement started on 5th October 2020, with the awarding of the Prize in physiology or medicine.
The award has been
awarded to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles M. Rice – these three
scientists discovered the cure of Hepatitis C. for the first time in history,
the disease can be cured, which raised the hope of eradicating and prevention
of the hepatitis C virus from the world population.
What is the Hepatitis Virus?
Hepatitis C virus
which is also known as hep C and HCV is a part of hepatitis viruses that attack
the liver.
It is mainly passed
through contaminated needles, either from injecting drugs or from needles stick
injuries in healthcare settings. It can be easily transmitted sexually,
especially during anal sex or other types of sex that may involve blood.
Its is usually
infects people who use drugs and who are more active in anal sex, it is more
happened to the people in prisons, men who have sex with men, health workers
and people living with HIV.
It is both acute and
Chronic it can be severe, and without appropriate treatment and care, it can
cause liver disease and liver cancer, which can lead to death.
Some people get acute
hepatitis, which does not lead to a life-threatening disease. Around 30% (15-45%)
of infected persons spontaneously clear the virus within 6 months of infection
without any treatment.
The remaining 70%
(55-85%) of persons will develop chronic HCV infection. Of those with chronic
HCV infection of those with chronic HCV infection, the risk of cirrhosis
between 15% and 30% within 20 years.
Hepatitis C
considered a major global health problem, blood-borne hepatitis has caused
more than a million death every year worldwide.
According to the WHO, the most affected regions are the Eastern Mediterranean Region and the WHO
European Region, with an estimated prevalence in 2015 of 2.3% and 1.5%
respectively. Prevalence of hepatitis C in other WHO regions varies from 0.5%
to 1.0%. Depending on the country, hepatitis C virus infection can be concentrated
in specific populations.
In some countries
where infection control practices are limited or historically insufficient,
Hepatitis C infection if often widely distributed in the general population.
There are multiple strains or genotypes of the HCV virus, and their distribution
varies by region. But in many countries, the genotype distribution remains
unknown.
It is estimated that
in 2015 there were 1,75 million new Hepatitis infections in the world (23.7 new
HCV infections per 100, 000 people).
About 2.3 million
people, 6.2% of the estimated 3.7 million living with HIV globally has
serological evidence of past or present HCV infection. This Chronic liver the disease represents a significant cause of morbidity and mortality
Symptoms
Usually, the incubation period for hepatitis C ranges from 2 weeks to 6 months. Following the initial infection, approx 80% of people do not exhibit any symptoms. Those who
are acutely symptomatic may exhibit fever, fatigue, decreased appetite,
nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dark urine, grey stool, joint pain and
jaundice.
Early diagnosis can
prevent health problems that may result from infection and to avoid transmission
of the virus. WHO recommends testing people who may be at increased risk of
disease.
What they discovered?
According to the
Nobel Committee the three scientists had “made possible blood tests and new
medicine that has saved millions of lives.”
Their work has helped
speed the fight against bloodborne hepatitis, the discovery has to allow allowed
for the rapid development of antiviral drugs directed at hepatitis C.
The discovery of
Hepatitis C virus was necessary for public health in two ways, biochemist
Jeremy Berg, professor of computational and systems biology at the University
at Pittsburgh and former director of the NIH’s National Institute of General
Medicine Sciences,
First, the discovery
enabled testing for screening blood for the agent that was responsible for
blood-borne transmission of hepatitis and liver cancer risk. Second knowledge
of the causative agent facilitated drug development, particularly protease
inhibitors that can treat existing hepatitis C virus infections and cure the
disease in many cases.
Trio discovery,
highly sensitive blood tests for the virus are now available, and these have
nearly eliminated post-transfusion hepatitis in many parts of the world,
greatly i.mproving global health.
They will share 10
million Swedish kronor, or about $1.07 million. Their names are added to a list
of medicine Noble winners that include 222 men and 12 women.
Is this the first Nobel Prize for hepatitis?
This is the second
Nobel Prize awarded for hepatitis discovery. In the 1960s, Baruch Blumberg, who
identified what became known as the blood-borne hepatitis B virus, won the
prize in 1976, Baruch laid the groundwork for the development of diagnostic
tests and an effective vaccine.
Who are the winners?
Harvey Alter, Born in 1935 in New York, is a senior investigator for the National Institutes of Health in Maryland. He received his medical degree at the University of Rochester Medical School, and trained in internal medicine at Strong Memorial Hospital and at the University Hospitals of Seattle.
Michael Houghton is a British
scientist, and currently a Canada Excellence Research Chair in Virology and the
Li Ka Shing Professor of Virology at the University of Alberta.
Charles M. Rice was born in
1952 in the U.S. and is a professor at Rockefeller University in New York. He was
the Scientific and Executive Director, Center for the Study of Hepatitis C at
Rockefeller University during 2001-2018, where he remains active.
No comments:
Post a comment