Hepatitis C virus infects around 3 per cent of the world’s population,
causing liver failure and death, but little is known about how it is passed from
mother to child. A British survey of infected mothers has now revealed that 7.4
per cent of those whose babies were delivered normally or by emergency Caesarean
section passed the virus on, but no babies delivered by Caesarean before the
onset of labour were infected (The Lancet, vol 356, p 904).
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
The world's fastest spider tops 3.5 metres per second
2
Babies are born with the neural foundations for maths
3
A type of fibre that stimulates GLP-1 release approved for use in food
4
The weirdness of neutrinos could completely rewrite particle physics
5
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
6
Humans sleep the least of all apes – is it the secret to our success?
7
A promising natural technique to remove CO2 could backfire
8
The best new science-fiction novels published in July 2026
9
I’m the first person whose life was saved by CRISPR base editing
10
Europe’s heatwave is the hottest and most humid ever
