Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to 3 scientists for discovery of Hepatitis C virus

New Delhi: Nobel Prize 2020 in Medicine has been shared by 3 scientists who discovered the Hepatitis C virus. The trio namely, British scientist Michael Houghton and American scientists Harvey J Alter & Charles M Rice were jointly awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine on Monday.

The Nobel Prize in Medicine is one of the many Nobel awards that have been lined to be announced till October 12.

The three scientists received the prestigious award for their “decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health problem that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer in people around the world,” the jury said.

BREAKING NEWS:
The 2020 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice “for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus.” pic.twitter.com/MDHPmbiFmS

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 5, 2020

“Thanks to their discovery, highly sensitive blood tests for the virus are now available and these have “essentially eliminated post-transfusion hepatitis in many parts of the world, greatly improving global health”, the Nobel committee said.

“For the first time in history, the disease can now be cured, raising hopes of eradicating Hepatitis C virus from the world population,” the jury said.

The trio will share the Nobel prize sum of 10 million Swedish kronor (about $1.1 million, 950,000 euros).

Some other sets of awards that are yet to be announced are the prizes in the field of chemistry, literature, physics, peace and economics. The Nobel Prize in Economics will be the last prize, drawing the event to close on October 12.