One notable change has been in the area of the Town Hall. In 1900 St Paul's Church stood there but was demolished in 1938. Now the space is filled by the new Peace Gardens, including the Goodwin Fountain. The fountain was named after Sir Stuart Goodwin, who also gave his name to the University's Sports and Recreation Centre. How infection occurs is not fully understood, but the virus can be contracted through the sharing of needles during drug abuse.
Most people remain infected with the virus indefinitely.
While they may be asymptomatic for many years, chronic infection can result in severe liver disease, including liver failure and cancer. However, the outcome in HCV infection varies greatly between patients, partly due to differences in people's immune systems. It is this variability that forms the basis of the study. The team want to find out whether there are differences in the genes controlling the immune system which affect the outcome in HCV infection. It would be very beneficial to discover whether or not a particular genetic trait makes a person more or less susceptible to the severe effects of HCV infection.