The Discovery of Hepatitis C:
In the 1970s, researchers developed blood tests to identify the viruses that cause hepatitis A and B. However, it became apparent that many blood samples, responsible for cases of post transfusion hepatitis, tested negative for A and B. For lack of a better term, scientists called the virus non-A, non-B hepatitis.Then in the 1980s a breakthrough occurred. After many years of work,  investigators under the direction of Daniel W. Bradley and Michael Houghton at the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and Chiron Corporation finally identified the virus as non-A, non-B infected blood. They used special genetic chemistry to identify the virus, and with this discovery, they were able to give it a name: Hepatitis C or HCV (Hepatitis C Virus).

In 1990 the first test for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) became commercially available. Routine physical examinations and blood bank screens uncovered an explosion of cases.

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Updated 3-25-02