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John McLauchlan

Professor of Viral Hepatitis, University of Glasgow
Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global public health problem. It is estimated that between 140-185 million people, are infected with the virus worldwide. Typically, HCV will establish a chronic infection that does not clear without intervention, leading to progressive liver disease and increased risk of hepatocellular cancer. It is now recognised that HCV infection is one of the leading causes of serious liver disease in many countries and is a growing burden on healthcare services. Previously, treatment consisted of a long course of interferon and ribavirin which was often poorly tolerated due to side effects, and had a low overall success rate. Although there are now new drugs available (called direct-acting antivirals; DAAs) that often do not require the use of interferon and give much higher cure rates even with reduced length of treatment, resistance to these drugs has been demonstrated which may limit their use in the future.

As well as being an important clinical pathogen, HCV is also interesting in terms of fundamental research as it is one of the most variable pathogens known to infect humans. It has been divided into 7 genotypes based on diversity at the nucleotide sequence level but there also many sub-types of each genotype. Even within an infected person, the virus is highly variable and exists as quasispecies, which is a population of diverse but closely-related variants. The extent of variability will depend on many factors; the amount of circulating virus, the genetics of the infected host and other external factors.

Not all people are equally vulnerable to hepatitis C – new study

Oct 17, 2018 22:29 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects around 1% of the human population and is a devastating pathogen. In most people, it silently infects the liver for decades, often causing life-threatening inflammation, scarring and even...

Economy

U.S. Stocks End Week Higher as Markets Anticipate Fed Rate Cut

U.S. stocks closed the week with modest gains on Friday, as investors weighed a wave of delayed economic data and maintained strong expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut at next weeks policy meeting. Despite...

Trump Meets Mexico and Canada Leaders After 2026 World Cup Draw Amid USMCA Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Washington on Friday, holding private talks focused on trade, immigration, and regional cooperation. The...

Gold Prices Edge Higher as Markets Await Key U.S. PCE Inflation Data

Gold prices moved higher in Asian trading on Friday, supported by a weakening U.S. dollar and strong expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its upcoming December 910 meeting. Spot gold rose 0.5%...

Asia’s IPO Market Set for Strong Growth as China and India Drive Investor Diversification

Asias equity capital markets are poised for another strong year as a surge of high-profile IPOs from China and India attracts global investors seeking diversification beyond U.S. assets. In 2025, Asian ECM...

Spain’s Industrial Output Records Steady Growth in October Amid Revised September Figures

Spains industrial sector posted a moderate yet encouraging rise in October, with industrial output increasing 1.2% compared to the same month last year, according to new data released by the National Statistics Institute...

Politics

Trump Backs Review of U.S. Childhood Vaccine Schedule After Hepatitis B Policy Change

President Donald Trump on Friday expressed support for a major shift in U.S. vaccine policy after government advisers voted to eliminate the long-standing recommendation that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine at...

Cuba Quietly Signals Openness to Post-Maduro Venezuela as U.S. Pressure Intensifies

U.S. pressure on Venezuela has triggered discreet outreach from figures inside the Cuban government, according to two sources familiar with the sensitive communications. The individuals, who requested anonymity, said that...

Escalating Conflict in Eastern Congo Despite U.S.-Brokered Peace Efforts

Fighting intensified across eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday, just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump met with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Washington. The...

Honduras Awaits Final Election Results as Asfura Holds Slim Lead Amid U.S. Attention

Honduras presidential race tightened further on Friday as conservative candidate Nasry Asfura maintained a razor-thin lead while vote counting stretched into a sixth day. With 87.84% of ballots counted, the National Party...

Trump’s New U.S. Strategy Seeks to Deter China and Protect Taiwan

President Donald Trumps administration has outlined a strengthened U.S. strategy aimed at preventing conflict with China over Taiwan and the South China Sea by expanding American and allied military power. The latest...

Science

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Trump and Merck KGaA Partner to Slash IVF Drug Costs and Expand Fertility Coverage

U.S. President Donald Trump and German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA have announced a groundbreaking deal aimed at lowering the cost of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments while boosting access to fertility care in...

Technology

Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns

Taiwans political landscape heated up after the government announced a plan to suspend access to the Chinese social media platform Rednoteknown as Xiaohongshufor one year. The interior ministry said the proposed ban stems...

EU Prepares Antitrust Probe Into Meta’s AI Integration on WhatsApp

The European Commission is reportedly preparing to launch a new antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: META) over the companys recent rollout of artificial intelligence features within WhatsApp....

Sam Altman Reportedly Explored Funding for Rocket Venture in Potential Challenge to SpaceX

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly explored raising significant capital to acquire or partner with a rocket company, a move that could have created direct competition with Elon Musks SpaceX. According to a report from the...

Wikipedia Pushes for AI Licensing Deals as Jimmy Wales Calls for Fair Compensation

Wikipedia is seeking additional licensing deals with major technology companies to address the growing financial burden caused by artificial intelligence firms heavily scraping its platform, according to co-founder Jimmy...

Firelight Launches as First XRP Staking Platform on Flare, Introduces DeFi Cover Feature

Firelight reaches 25M XRP deposit cap within hours of launch; ushers in a new era for decentralized XRP staking. A new XRP staking platform, Firelight, has officially launched on the Flare blockchain, marking the first...