Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was discovered in 1989 by Michael Houghton and coworkers. This discovery represented the first time that a new virus was identified using exclusively molecular biology techniques from the blood of an experimentally infected chimpanzee. The development and widespread use of a first-generation ELISA assay, and then of more sensitive enzyme immunoassays and of molecular biology-based techniques, for the detection of HCV RNA in body fluids revealed that HCV was highly prevalent worldwide and responsible for the vast majority of cases of so-called non-A, non-B and cryptogenetic chronic hepatitis. Twenty years later, where are we? In fact, very few medical fields have witnessed such rapid progress over such a short period, as eradication of HCV infection can now be foreseen within the next 20 years, at least in wealthy countries that will be able to afford the cost of modern therapies.
展开▼
