Harvey Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles Rice are the recipients of this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine. They have studied the germs of a deadly disease. That is the hepatitis C virus. They were the ones who identified the virus and determined their characteristics and religion. Eli Barnes, a student in the Department of Medicine and Immunology at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, said the award was given to the right people. "It's one of the great discoveries in science," he said. Their discovery has shown us the way. As a result, it has become possible to treat patients with hepatitis C. 'According to the World Health Organization, about 60 million people worldwide are infected with the hepatitis C virus. About four million people die each year from liver cirrhosis and cancer due to hepatitis C.
Harvey Alter is a researcher at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, USA. In 1960, he studied hepatitis B through blood transfusions. He proved a third bacterium besides the hepatitis A and B virus, which is transmitted through blood and spreads hepatitis in chimpanzees. At the time, Hutton was researching Kieron Corporation in Emeryville, California. He and his colleagues isolated the virus's genetic material from the body of a chimpanzee infected with hepatitis. It was later confirmed that it was a brand new RNA virus of the flavivirus family. They named this new virus, the hepatitis C virus.
Charles Rice, a scientist at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He and his team were able to identify a part of the hepatitis C virus genome using genetic engineering. That is what is actually responsible for the cause of the disease.
"It's tough to do that," Alter told a news conference. It took Kieron researchers six years to clone a small part of the hepatitis C virus genome. However, if no specific time is set for research, it isn't easy to allocate money. This is very difficult for young researchers.
Some researchers thought that Ruff Burten Slager, a virologist at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, would be nominated for this year's Nobel Prize. He has studied the spread of the hepatitis C virus in the laboratory. But he thinks the Nobel Committee has made the right decision. "It's really a difficult decision," Alter said. I think the way they look at it is clear enough. '
Earlier, Hutton was vocal about the science award. He was especially annoyed with the shortlist of candidates. He even declined the honorary Canada Gardner Award in 2013. The honorarium was 1 million Canadian dollars. The reason for the rejection was that the Gardner Foundation refused to award his two collaborators, Qui Lim Cho and George Qu. Thomas Bogart, a virologist and hepatologist at the University of Strasbourg in France said Hutton always loved to think of his discovery as a team contribution. But a Nobel Prize is awarded to a maximum of three. "The Nobel Prize is a completely different matter," Hutton said. If I reject the Nobel, it would be a matter of great pride. I don't think it would be fruitful to discuss the matter with them, since their rules and the award process align with Alfred Nobel's will. "
The research of these three scientists and scientists spread worldwide has brought about significant changes in the method and treatment of the detection of hepatitis C. New drugs have been discovered. There has been a great improvement in fruit treatment. The new drugs are very effective in preventing the hepatitis C virus. But these are very expensive. So it has remained out of the reach of the general public. A drug for treatment is to be used for 8-12 weeks. Since most patients with hepatitis C are sensitive, such as intoxicated, it is a little difficult to reach them with appropriate medication, Barnes said. He hopes that this year's Nobel Prize will draw the world's attention to Hepatitis C.
In Bangladesh, the hepatitis C virus is blamed for the liver disease after the hepatitis B virus. About 0.84 percent of the country's population is infected with the hepatitis C virus. THE Hepatitis C virus causes 30 percent of liver cirrhosis and 18 percent liver cancer. About 60 percent of the total infected patients are men, and 30 percent are women. About 80 percent of infected patients are between the ages of 30 and 50. There are six main genotypes of the hepatitis C virus. Of these, genotype 3 is most prevalent in Bangladesh (50-69 percent).
The main causes of Hepatitis C virus infection in Bangladesh are hammer treatment, hair, beard-cutting in public salons, special piercings for body decoration, etc. Also, smallpox, cholera vaccination, dental treatment, blood transfusions are thought to be responsible for the hepatitis C virus infection.
Until 2015, ribavirin and pegylated interferon were used to treat the hepatitis C virus in our country. In the case of hepatitis C genotype 3, the sustained virological response to this dual therapy was 60 percent. If the virus is not found in the blood 12 weeks or more after treatment using an antiviral drug, it is called a sustained viral response.
In 2015, the country-produced Sofsubvi came to the market. Now we have daclatasvir and ledipasvir in addition to ribavirin and pegylated interferon. Using these three drugs together has yielded the expected results. The government will.
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