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Hepatitis C is a Hot Topic and a Nobel Winner
2020 has been a remarkable year for Medical Microbiology not just because of COVID-19 pandemic but also for milestones in HIV and hepatitis C disease. Hepatitis C discovery is the Nobel winner for 2020, which underscores its importance for the USMLE. Dr. Harvey Alter was a young man on Dr. Baruch Samuel Blumberg’s team when they discovered hepatitis B in 1965. Their landmark paper announcing their discovery of HBsAg (what was then known as “the Australian Antigen”) on Feb 15, 1965, is a classic! [Refer to JAMA. 252 (2): 252–7]. Dr. Blumberg received the Nobel for their work on HBV in 1975.