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Australian discovery may lead to a hepatitis C vaccine Researchers in
Australia have discovered an antibody that has helped some people develop
immunity against hepatitis C, and they hope to use the discovery as the
foundation for an HCV vaccine, Agence France-Presse reports. The study of
160 inmates showed that four Australian prisoners had built up a natural
immunity to HCV despite repeated exposures to the virus through
injection-drug use. Blood tests showed that even when infected with the
virus, the prisoners quickly cleared all HCV from their bodies. A separate
study of visitors to a Sydney drop-in center for injection-drug users
confirmed the researchers' findings. "It seems that the higher the risk behavior, the greater the likelihood the
immunity would be present," lead researcher Andrew Lloyd of the University
of New South Wales told Agence France-Presse. "I suspect it has something to
do with the circumstances of the first exposure. It may be that it was a
very low dose that gets into the body and pushes the balance in favor of an
immune response."
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