Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded for discovery of hepatitis C to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice
The Nobel Prize in Medicine has been jointly awarded to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice for the discovery of hepatitis C virus.
![a person standing in front of a television: Thomas Perlmann (right), the Secretary of the Nobel Committee, announces the winners.](https://www.msn.com/{"default":{"load":"default","w":"80","h":"45","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB19IcGW.img?h=450&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=374&y=189"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"35","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB19IcGW.img?h=352&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=374&y=189"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"35","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB19IcGW.img?h=352&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=374&y=189"}})
© JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images
Thomas Perlmann (right), the Secretary of the Nobel Committee, announces the winners.
The award is one of the most sought-after global accolades and grants entry into one of the most prestigious clubs in the world.
The Nobel Assembly said in a news release Monday that the three scientists “made seminal discoveries that led to the identification of a novel virus.” It said the trio had “made a decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health problem that causes cirrhosis and liver cancer in people around the world.”
![diagram: The 2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet on Monday.](https://www.msn.com/{"default":{"load":"default","w":"80","h":"45","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB19IgDY.img?h=450&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=638&y=214"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"35","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB19IgDY.img?h=352&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=638&y=214"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"35","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB19IgDY.img?h=352&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=638&y=214"}})
© Niklaus Elmehed/Nobel Prize
The 2020 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet on Monday.
Globally, an estimated 71 million people have chronic hepatitis C virus
