Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to discovery of hepatitis C virus

The hepatitis C virus is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Cirrhosis is the end stage of several chronic diseases of the liver, in which the essential tissue of the liver that performs its functions shrinks and the intermediate connective tissue grows in size.

The discovery of the virus has allowed blood tests to detect the virus and develop new drugs that have saved millions of people’s lives, the Nobel committee said.

The jury considers the work of the laureates an important step in our continuous fight against viral infections.

The prize consists of a gold medal and 10 million Swedish crowns (almost 1 million euros). That amount has recently been increased to take inflation into account.

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