'침묵의 살인자' C형간염 완치 토대 마련한 연구자 3인 노벨상
Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in Medicine on Monday,... for discovering the hepatitis C virus.
The breakthrough discovery led to cures for the deadly disease and tests to keep the virus out of the blood supply.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
This year's Nobel Prize in Medicine went to three scientists who discovered the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus.
"The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute has today decided to award the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus."
Announcing the winners in Stockholm on Monday,... the Nobel Committee noted that the three scientists helped explain a major source of blood-borne hepatitis that couldn't be explained by the hepatitis A and B virus.
It added their work made possible blood tests and new medicine that has since saved millions of lives.
The disease can now be cured,... raising hopes that hepatitis C can eventually be eradicated.
The WHO estimates over 70 million cases of hepatitis and 400-thousand deaths are reported worldwide each year.
The disease is chronic,... and a major cause of liver inflammation and cancer.
Different from hepatitis A,... which is transmitted through food or water and causes an acute infection that can last a few weeks,... hepatitis B and C are transmitted through blood.
Alter and Rice and currently working on COVID-19 research,... while Houghton is in the process of developing a vaccine for hepatitis C.
Watchers say this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine carries particular significance due to the COVID-19 pandemic,... which has highlighted the importance of medical research for societies and economies around the world.
The prize comes with a gold medal and winner's check of over 1-point-1 million U.S. dollars, which will be split three ways.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
