3 win Nobel Prize in medicine for hepatitis C virus discovery
STOCKHOLM — Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for discovering the liverravaging hepatitis C virus, a breakthrough that led to cures for the deadly disease and tests to keep the scourge out of the blood supply.
Americans Harvey Alter and Charles Rice and British- born Michael Houghton were honored for their work over several decades on an illness that still plagues more than 70 million worldwide and kills over 400,000 each year.
“For the first time in history, the disease can now be cured, raising hopes of eradicating hepatitisCvirus from the world,” the Nobel Committee said in announcingtheprize inStockholm.
The challenge now is to make these still-expensive drugsmore widely available and to stem the spread of the disease among drug users, whose sharing of needles has led to spikes in cases.
“What we need is the political will to eradicate it” and to make the drugs
WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence is in a familiar spot: standing by President Donald Trump.
With Trump infected with the coronavirus that he spent months downplaying, his ever-loyalNo. 2 will play an increasingly prominent role in the weeks ahead.
Pence will take a leading role in campaigning around the country in the final stretch before the Nov. 3 election, aiming to keep the president’s supporters energizedanddeflecting criticism of his handling of a virus that has killed more affordable enough to do it, Georgetown University, than 210,000 Americans. Alter said. said that before testing was The president’s positive di
Scientists had long available, about 1 in10blood agnosis Friday has intensiknown of the hepatitis A transfusions carried the risk fied scrutiny of the adminand B viruses, spread largeof passing the virus. istration’s cavalier aply through contaminated “Now it’s 1 in a million,” proach to the pandemic. food or water and blood, Goodman said. The spotlight on Pence respectively, but were “toilRice, 68, worked on hepwill be especially bright ing in the wilderness” to try atitis at Washington UniWednesday when he will to explain many other cases versity in St. Louis and now participate in the vice presof liver disease until the is at Rockefeller University idential debate with Caliblood-borne hepatitis C in New York. Alter, 85, fornia Sen. Kamala Harris. viruswas identified in 1989, worked for decades at the Pence will almost certainly said Dr. Raymond Chung, U.S. National Institutes of be pressed to justify liver disease chief atMassaHealth and remains active Trump’s decision to hold chusetts GeneralHospital. there. Houghton, 69, was large in-person campaign
Now, it’s the only chronic born in Britain and worked rallies during a pandemic— viral infection that can be on hepatitis at the Chiron events that often flouted cured in almost all cases Corp. in California before public health guidelines by within a few months, using moving to the University of congregating thousands of one of roughly half a dozen Alberta in Canada. mostly mask-less supportdrugs,ers.Chungsaid.WithoutAlterfirstdiscoveredthat such treatment, the virus blood from patients who “Normally, the vice prescan lead to permanent scardid not have hepatitis B idential debate is inconring of the liver, liver cancer could still cause liver insequential. That is not the or the need for a transplant. flammation and disease, but case in 2020,” said Alex
In an interview with The for years the cause was Conant, a Republican stratAssociated Press, Rice said unknown. A breakthrough egist who worked on Florhe is most proud that the came in 1989, whenHoughida Sen. Marco Rubio’s group’s work quickly led to ton and others at Chiron 2016 presidential bid. “The a test to screen donors and cloned the virus, making its public has so many quesmake the blood supply genetic identity known and tions about how we got safer. allowing further research here and it’s an opportunity
“We take it for granted on it, saidNobel Committee for Pence to answer some that if you get a transfusion, member Gunilla Karlssonof those.” you’re not going to get sick Hedestam. Pence has often been from that transfusion. That Later, Rice developed lab called upon to smooth over was not the case before but tools and methods that confallout fromTrump’s messy is certainly the case now,” firmed the hepatitis C virus decision making and diviRice said. could cause liver disease in sive policies.
Dr. Jesse Goodman, a chimpanzees and humans, Since the 2016 camformer blood safety expert directly contributing paign, he has served as a at the U.S. Food and Drug knowledge that led to tests bridge of sorts between a Administration now at and treatments. brash, thrice-married for