A big data study of hepatitis C and more than 500 patients with the virus has opened the way for a better understanding of how the virus interacts with its human hosts.
Researchers at the University of Oxford have for the first time developed a method for analyzing and comparing the genetic makeup of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), as well as that of more than 500 patients with the virus.
Viral hepatitis is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, with 2-3% of the world’s population thought to be infected with HCV, which left untreated can led to liver disease and cancer.
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Professor Ellie Barnes from the Nuffield Department of Medicine, who led the study with Dr Chris Spencer, said: “We identified two places in the human genome where the genetic variation that calibrates our immune system affects the genetic diversity of the virus…Within 15 years, DNA sequencing of disease-causing bugs like HCV will become a routine part of healthcare.”
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