<p>Scientists claim to have developed the first ever preventative vaccine for deadly Hepatitis C, a liver illness affecting about 200 million people worldwide.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Hepatitis C is an infectious disease primarily of the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and a preventative vaccine has the potential to have a significant global health impact, researchers at the Burnet Institute, Melbourne said in a statement.<br /><br />With this finding, scientists said they have solved a hepatitis C vaccine mystery which once developed could be the first ever preventative vaccine for the virus.<br /><br />As the virus has a greater ability to change its structure and evade the immune response, they said it is difficult to vaccinate against.<br /><br />The infection is often asymptomatic, but can lead to scarring of the liver and ultimately to cirrhosis, which is apparent after many years.<br /><br />In some cases, those with cirrhosis will go on to develop liver failure and liver cancer.<br /><br />Currently undergoing formal pre-clinical studies, the vaccine is the result of a breakthrough work done by Heidi Drummer, Associate Professor from Burnet Institute.<br /><br />Drummer and her team have overcome a major hurdle in HCV vaccine research, developing a vaccine candidate that protects against a number of different HCV strains, according to a Burnet statement.<br /><br />"Hepatitis C has a great ability to change its structure and evade the immune response. This makes vaccine development challenging," Drummer said.<br /><br />"Our vaccine is unique as it contains only the most essential, conserved parts of the major viral surface protein, eliciting antibodies that prevent both closely and distantly related hepatitis C viruses from entering cells, thereby preventing infection," Drummer said.<br /><br />There are some phase one clinical studies going on in the UK and Europe at the moment, looking at some different approaches. Our vaccine uses a completely different technology to those vaccines that have been previously trialled and those in trial at the moment, Drummer said.<br /><br />Drummer presented these findings at the Immunotherapeutics and Vaccine Summit (ImVacS) in Cambridge, Massachussets, US, on August 13. </p>
<p>Scientists claim to have developed the first ever preventative vaccine for deadly Hepatitis C, a liver illness affecting about 200 million people worldwide.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Hepatitis C is an infectious disease primarily of the liver, caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and a preventative vaccine has the potential to have a significant global health impact, researchers at the Burnet Institute, Melbourne said in a statement.<br /><br />With this finding, scientists said they have solved a hepatitis C vaccine mystery which once developed could be the first ever preventative vaccine for the virus.<br /><br />As the virus has a greater ability to change its structure and evade the immune response, they said it is difficult to vaccinate against.<br /><br />The infection is often asymptomatic, but can lead to scarring of the liver and ultimately to cirrhosis, which is apparent after many years.<br /><br />In some cases, those with cirrhosis will go on to develop liver failure and liver cancer.<br /><br />Currently undergoing formal pre-clinical studies, the vaccine is the result of a breakthrough work done by Heidi Drummer, Associate Professor from Burnet Institute.<br /><br />Drummer and her team have overcome a major hurdle in HCV vaccine research, developing a vaccine candidate that protects against a number of different HCV strains, according to a Burnet statement.<br /><br />"Hepatitis C has a great ability to change its structure and evade the immune response. This makes vaccine development challenging," Drummer said.<br /><br />"Our vaccine is unique as it contains only the most essential, conserved parts of the major viral surface protein, eliciting antibodies that prevent both closely and distantly related hepatitis C viruses from entering cells, thereby preventing infection," Drummer said.<br /><br />There are some phase one clinical studies going on in the UK and Europe at the moment, looking at some different approaches. Our vaccine uses a completely different technology to those vaccines that have been previously trialled and those in trial at the moment, Drummer said.<br /><br />Drummer presented these findings at the Immunotherapeutics and Vaccine Summit (ImVacS) in Cambridge, Massachussets, US, on August 13. </p>
