Tag Archives: Hepatitis

Scientists Develop Nanoparticle Which Completely Destroys Hepatitis C

Posted on July 24, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Estimates suggest over 250,000 people in the UK have been infected with hepatitis C, but eight out of 10 don’t know they have it because they have no symptoms. About 75% of these people go on to develop a chronic hepatitis.

Because it can take years, even decades, for symptoms to appear, many people (possibly 100,000 or more) remain unaware they have a problem. By the time they become ill and seek help, considerable damage has been done to the liver. This might have been prevented if the person had been diagnosed earlier.

Elsewhere in the world, hepatitis C is even more common – the World Health Organization estimates that three per cent of the world’s population (about 170 million people) have chronic hepatitis C and up to four million people are newly infected each year.

While there’s increasing progress towards finding a reliable vaccine, results can’t come soon enough. Now, researchers have developed a nanoparticle that effectively eradicates hepatitis C 100 per cent of the time.

Researchers from the University of Florida have developed what they call a “nanozyme”. Based around gold nanoparticles, these things have their surface coated with two biological agents. One is an enzyme that attacks and kills the mRNA which allows hep C to replicate, while the other is a short string of DNA which identities the disease and sends the enzyme off to kill it.

While current hep C treatments attack the same replication process, they only work on about 50 per cent of patients treated. In lab-based tests, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Univeristy of Florida researchers showed that their approach was 100 per cent effective in both cell cultures and mice. They observed no side effects in the mouse models, either.

While it’s great news, such a treatment is some way off becoming available to patients any time soon. All targeted drugs have to be extremely carefully tested, as there’s always a risk that they could also end up targeting healthy parts of the body by accident. Given the current problems posed by hepatitis C, though, that testing can’t happen soon enough.

Original Articles via BBC, Gizmodo, PNAS & IEEE Spectrum

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People Get HIV Through Unprotected Sex, Not Because They’re Going For Fish Pedicures!

Posted on October 19, 2011 by | Comments Off

The Health Protection Agency have said today that there is a risk of catching infections like HIV and Hepatitis from fish pedicure spa’s that are popping up everywhere.

An agency spokesman said: “We have issued this guidance because there are a growing number of these spas.  When the correct hygiene procedures are followed, the risk of infection is very low”.

“However, there is still a risk of transmission of a number of infections — this does include viruses like HIV and hepatitis.”

It’s a fine line to disagree with the Health Protection Agency but LASS are in good company.  HIV expert charities like Terrence Higgins Trust and the National AIDS Trust also say the likelihood of catching HIV in this manner is “almost impossible”.

It doesn’t help when the media sensationalise stories like this and take them out of context, reporting headlines such as “Fears fish foot spa pedicures could spread HIV and hepatitis C”

Deborah Jack, chief executive of NAT, has accused the HPA of “misleading” people .

She said: “There is no risk of HIV being passed on through a fish pedicure and these claims do nothing but undermine public understanding.  At a time when knowledge of HIV is declining, it is crucial for the public to be aware of the facts so they can protect themselves from real transmission risk – and not get preoccupied with sensationalist and inaccurate reports.  We are concerned the HPA’s guidance has been misleading in terms of HIV risk and we urge them to clarify their position on this as soon as possible”.

“People are contracting HIV because they aren’t using condoms, not because they’re going for fish pedicures!”

Lisa Power, policy director at THT, said: “The risk of HIV being transmitted through a fish pedicure is so small as to be almost impossible. HIV is a fragile virus once it is outside the body; it cannot be passed on via animal or insect bites.

“For transmission to occur, two successive clients would need open wounds on their feet and there would have to be huge amounts of infected blood in the water. The reality is, in this country, too many people are contracting HIV because they aren’t using condoms, not because they’re going for fish pedicures.”

The National AIDS Trust have issued their own press release on the subject and a key point being made is the HPA’s report examines the available evidence and scientific plausibility for the transmission of blood borne viruses from person to person, via the water in the fish tank.  The HPA’s own report (which you can download from here) says “there is theoretical potential for transmission to occur” not “Pedicures could spread HIV”

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Pill Targeting Hepatitis C Launched

Posted on August 11, 2011 by | Comments Off

A new pill that directly targets hepatitis C for the first time has been launched in the UK.

A new pill that directly targets hepatitis C for the first time has been launched in the UK

In clinical trials, adding Victrelis to standard therapy increased the number of chronic patients freed from the virus up to threefold.

Hepatitis C is a blood-to-blood infection that attacks the liver. It is commonly spread by injecting drug users sharing needles, body piercing and tattoos.

The virus can also be transmitted by blood transfusions, but donor screening has prevented this happening in the UK since 1991. Sexual transmission is extremely uncommon.

The infection is known as the “silent epidemic” because it may take decades to produce any symptoms. Ultimately, the virus can cause serious liver damage or liver cancer.

Around 216,000 people in the UK are believed to be chronically infected with hepatitis C but many do not know it.

Until now, licensed treatments have relied on boosting the immune system to fight the infection.

Victrelis, one of a class of drugs called protease inhibitors, is different because it attacks the virus directly.

Charles Gore, chief executive of the the Hepatitis C Trust charity, said: “Hepatitis C is called the silent epidemic because hundreds of thousands of people carry the virus yet the great majority have no idea they are infected.

“It can take decades for symptoms of hepatitis C to emerge and when they do, damage to the liver may have already occurred. Raising awareness of the condition and getting more people tested are critical, but we also need effective treatments once it is diagnosed.”

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Via Belfast Telegraph

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Today is World Hepatitis Day & Find Out What LASS is Doing To Help

Posted on July 28, 2011 by | 2 Comments


Following the World Health Assembly in May 2010, it was agreed that World Hepatitis Day would be recognised annually on 28 July.

World Hepatitis Day is an annual event which provides international focus for patient groups and people living with hepatitis.  It is an opportunity where interested groups can raise awareness and influence real change in disease prevention and access to testing and treatment.

Since its inception back in 2008 thousands of events have taken place around the world, generating massive public and media interest.  The World Hepatitis Alliance has also received support from governments worldwide, high-profile Non-Governmental Organisations and supranational bodies, such as Médecins Sans Frontières.

LASS would like to invite you to an open day, to help identify the needs of individuals in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland living with Hepatitis or who are co-infected with HIV and Hepatitis.

We envision a support group where individuals can collaborate and share knowledge with the aim to manage the condition in a supportive environment.  Suggestions so far include telephone support, full access to Hepatitis reference materials and one on one home visits (provided we can secure appropriate funding).  

We’re meeting in Loughborough, on Wednesday 3rd August in the afternoon, if you like to come along, please contact Michael on 0116 2559995 or email him directly and we’ll be happy to send you more information.

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World Health Organisation: Hepatitis Toll “In Millions”

Posted on July 28, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Medical experts are calling for global action to tackle the viruses that cause the liver disease hepatitis.

The first worldwide estimates in drug users show 10 million have hepatitis C while 1.3 million have hepatitis B.  Writing in the Lancet, experts say only a fraction of those who could benefit are receiving antiviral drugs.

Only one in five infants around the world are vaccinated against hepatitis B at birth, they say.  The figures, published in the Lancet, show about 67% of injecting drug users in the world have been exposed to hepatitis C, while around 10% have come into contact with hepatitis B.

In the UK, around half of injecting drug users have been infected with the hepatitis C virus, while the rate for exposure to hepatitis B is 9% – the highest in western Europe.

“This study provides us with a first step and powerful data to draw attention to the problem of viral hepatitis in people who use drugs”

Dr Joseph Amon – Human Rights Watch

The research was led by Prof Louisa Degenhardt of the Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia, and Paul Nelson from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at the University of New South Wales.

They say: “The public-health response to blood-borne virus transmission in injecting drug users has mainly centred on HIV.  “Maintenance and strengthening of the response to HIV in injecting drug users remains crucial, but the significance of viral hepatitis needs to receive greater attention than it does at present.”

Commenting on the study in the Lancet, Dr Joseph Amon, of Human Rights Watch, New York City, US, said: “This study provides us with a first step and powerful data to draw attention to the problem of viral hepatitis in people who use drugs.

“The next step is to challenge governments to act, and hold them accountable for implementation of rights-respecting and evidence-based programmes.”
Hepatitis is caused by five main viruses – A, B and C, and, more rarely D and E.
Hepatitis B is the most common, and can be passed from mother to baby at birth or in early childhood as well as through contaminated injections or injected drug use.

Hepatitis C is also spread through using unsterile needles and less commonly through unsafe sex or sharing razors or toothbrushes. The E virus, caught from infected water or food, is a common cause of outbreaks of the disease in developing countries, said the World Health Organization.

Many of those carrying hepatitis are not aware they have it and can unknowingly transmit it to others.

Source: BBC

You can find more information about Hepatitis at NHS Choices

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