Drug companies may soon be able to order pharma labels for a new vaccine for Hepatitis C.

Scientists at Rockefeller University and The Scripps Research Institute have managed to create the first ever genetically humanised mouse model for the virus.

They will now be able to study the virus' life cycle and crucially, test potential new treatments that could lead to a full vaccine, something that was not possible before.

Alexander Ploss from Rockefeller University explained: "Results from these tests can potentially guide more expensive pre-clinical and clinical studies in higher order organisms, including humans."

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne virus that was only discovered in the 1980s after it became apparent that something other than Hepatitis A and B was attacking patients' livers.

The Hepatitis Trust states that as many as 170 million people worldwide may be affected by it and that it also has the potential to damage the digestive system, the lymphatic system, the immune system and the brain.

Denny Bros Ltd, 10 June 2011