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Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 7, 799–800 (1 October 2008) | doi:10.1038/nrd2661

Hepatitis C therapies

Irena Melnikova

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the major cause of liver disease worldwide and a potential source of high morbidity and mortality in the future. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 170 million people, 3% of the world's population, are chronically infected with HCV, and 3–4 million new infections occur each year.