{"id":2733,"date":"2020-10-09T11:50:10","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T06:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classiciasacademy.com\/blog\/?p=2733"},"modified":"2020-10-09T11:50:44","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T06:20:44","slug":"noble-prize-for-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.classiciasacademy.com\/blog\/noble-prize-for-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Noble Prize for Medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
In\nNews<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Two\nAmericans and a Briton won Noble Prize for M<\/strong>edicine for the discovery of the Hepatitis\nC virus.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In-Detail<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The 2020 Noble Prize for Medicine is awarded to two Americans and a\nBriton won for identifying the Hepatitis C virus.<\/li>
Identification of the virus led to limiting the\nspread of disease and develop drugs to treat it.<\/li>
The discoveries of scientists Harvey J.Alter,\nCharles M.Rice and Briton Michael Houghton <\/strong>showed that there is a chance of\neradicating the Hepatitis C virus with new medicines.<\/li>
For the discovery, the three shared 10million\nSwedish crowns award.<\/strong><\/li>
They proved that a blood-borne virus could\ncause Hepatitis C.<\/strong><\/li>
Globally, 70 million people are infected with\nHepatitis C and 4,00,000 deaths occur\neach year due to the virus.<\/li>
This is the second Noble Prize for\nmedicine for Hepatitis C.<\/strong><\/li>
Baruch\nBlumberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1976 for the discovery of a\nvirus that causes blood-borne hepatitis which came to be known as Hepatitis B.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Research\nDetails<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Each scientist found the virus in a differently.\nDr. Alter found that blood transfusions are spreading a liver disease which\nwasn\u2019t due to either Hepatitis A or B.<\/li>
Dr Houghton created a clone of a new virus from\nthe fragments found in the blood of an infected chimpanzee. <\/li>
This virus belongs to the Flavivirus family and\nnamed it as Hepatitis C.<\/li>
This identification made it possible to develop\ntests to screen blood bank supplies.<\/li>
This reduced the spread of the disease which can\ncause liver cancer and cirrhosis.<\/li>
Dr.Rice was able to use genetic engineering to\ngenerate a version of the Hepatitis C virus.<\/li>
He demonstrated that it alone could cause\nsymptoms in a chimpanzee comparable to an infection in humans.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Status\nof Hepatitis C in India<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India\nhas set a target to eliminate Hepatitis C in the country by 2030.<\/li>
But now, the 10-year Hepatitis C elimination\ndeadline seems difficult to achieve.<\/li>
When the National Viral Hepatitis Control\nProgramme (NVHCP) <\/strong>was launched, India has managed to put 50,000 people on\ntreatment since 2018.<\/li>
As three scientists won the 2020 Noble Price for\nMedicine, it was a reminder to India to reach its elimination target.<\/li>
It is estimated that 0.5-1 per cent of the\ncountry<\/strong>\u2019s\npopulation suffers from Hepatitis C.<\/strong><\/li>
Hepatitis disease is hard to detect as it is\nasymptomatic for a longer period before leading to liver cirrhosis or liver\ncancer.<\/strong><\/li>
For each year, the WHO estimated 4 lakh global\ndeaths due to Hepatitis C.<\/li>
Treatment for Hepatitis C requires oral\nmedication for 12 weeks and in severe patients, it may extend to 24 weeks.<\/li>
In Maharashtra, 350 patients have been diagnosed\nand 180 of them are put on treatment.<\/li>
Since 2016, Punjab has enrolled 87,000 patients\nand 93% of them have been cured.<\/li>
Punjab has the burden of the disease due to\nhigh-drug abuse and injectable drug usage.<\/li>
Before COVID-19, Punjab was recording 900-1000\nnew cases every month. But in March and April,2020 cases detection fell to\n250-300.<\/li>
Now in Punjab treatment centres have been\nincreased in all HIV centres and nine central prisons.<\/li>
Currently, it costs Rs. 3000 to treat a hepatitis C patient.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"