An existing treatment for hepatitis C has been found capable of curing the illness, researchers have said.
Until this point, the ability of pegylated interferon to completely kill off the hepatitis C virus was unknown; the treatments were, however, proven effective in the short term.
A study of 1000 patients over seven years revealed that 99 per cent of patients were still free of the infection after receiving a single course of treatment.
Professor Mitchell Shiffman, chief of hepatology at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School, said: "We are encouraged by this data because it is rare in the treatment of life threatening viral diseases that we can tell patients they may be cured.
"In hepatitis C today, we are able to help some patients achieve an outcome that effectively enables them to put their disease behind them."
Hepatitis C, which is most commonly spread through blood contact, can seriously damage the liver functions.
© Adfero Ltd