In the Haemophilia Society's 'Submission to the Archer Inquiry' of 2007, we learn of how many countries used surrogate tests to determine the presence of Non-A Non-B hepatitis (now Hepatitis C):

"The UK was one of the last countries in the western world to introduce a test for hepatitis C. Prior to the discovery of a specific test in 1989, many countries used surrogate tests. These tested people for raised ALT (liver enzyme) levels or hepatitis B. Although surrogate tests were crude and showed a high number of false positives, many countries thought it best to err on the side of caution."

"West Germany introduced a surrogate test in 1965."

"Other European countries such as Italy and France followed suit. The USA introduced surrogate tests in September 1986."

Note: Whilst the main thrust of this entry is to draw attention to the fact that West Germany introduced a surrogate test in 1965, we dispute the reference in the submission that a specific test for HCV was discovered in 1989. We firmly believe that the Chiron Corporation discovered, cloned and sequenced the Hepatitis C virus - the causative agent of Non-A Non-B Hepatitis (NANBH) two years earlier, in 1987. (see related entries link below.)

A team of scientists, working at the Chiron Corporation, discover, clone and sequence the Hepatitis C virus - the causative agent of Non-A Non-B Hepatitis (NANBH).

The pioneering work of scientist Michael Houghton, Ph.D. and colleagues Qui-Lim Choo, Ph.D. and George Kuo, Ph.D. goes back as far as 1982.