Origin of the hepatitis C virus approached

Origin of the hepatitis C virus approached

06/27/2013

Researchers who wanted to test the hepatitis C virus on animals, so far in their experiments did not get far, because none were infected by the pathogen. Scientists have now discovered the reason for this in a study, which raises hopes for a possible vaccine.

Possible origin of the pathogen in rodents and bats
Researchers have taken a significant step forward in their quest for the origin of the hepatitis C virus. Under the auspices of the Bonn University Hospital, an international team of scientists has identified in an extensive study, the possible origin of the pathogen in rodents and bats, said the University of Bonn. An advance publication appeared in the journal "PLOS Pathogens". The new findings increase the hope for the development of a vaccine against the liver inflammation. In contrast to hepatitis A and hepatitis B, vaccination against hepatitis C is currently not possible.

185 million people with hepatitis C worldwide
Hepatitis C is an infectious disease that can lead to severe liver damage such as cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. "This infectious disease is one of the great killers in the world," said the first author of the study, the Bonn virologist Felix Drexler. About 185 million people worldwide are infected with the hepatitis C virus, including several hundred thousand in Germany. Hepatitis C is mainly transmitted via the blood, but can be in about 30 percent of the diseases, the path of infection in retrospect no longer understand. Increased risk of infection exists for drug users who inject their addictive substances and tattoos and piercings increase the risk factor of contaminated instruments.

Side effects of hepatitis C treatment
When treating hepatitis C, you have to expect numerous side effects such as flu symptoms, fatigue, mild hair loss, a thyroid dysfunction and mental side effects such as depression. Therefore, vaccination against the pathogen would be so important, but Prof. Dr. med. Christian Drosten, Director of the Institute of Virology at the University Hospital Bonn said: "So far, vaccine development has failed mainly because not a single laboratory animal was infected with hepatitis C."

Basis for the development of a vaccine?
To an extent not yet reached the scientists took for the study world-wide samples of 4770 rodents and 2939 bats. Since pets are also suspected as a possible source of viruses, 210 horses and 858 cats and dogs were tested. The researchers came across numerous variants of viruses that are related to the hepatitis C virus. Antibodies to the pathogen were found in the bats. Drexler says this is "a clear indication that this virus family has evolved in the evolutionary process in small mammals and may have jumped over to humans or other animals." The scientists see the new findings as a basis for the development of a vaccine. For the researchers to be positive that the rodents in which the virus was found, would be well suited to keep them in the laboratory. And that the viruses in the rodents also caused an infection of the liver, similar to the human hepatitis C virus. (Ad)