Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to trio who discovered Hepatitis C virus

Harvey J Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M Rice jointly honoured for their decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health problem

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to Dr Harvey J Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M Rice on Monday for the discovery of hepatitis C virus, a breakthrough the Nobel Assembly said had “made possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of lives”.

The Nobel Assembly announced the prize at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

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

Who are the winners?

Dr Alter, an American (born in New York in