A Bloomberg News report indicates that biotech company Okairos is working on a vaccine for hepatitis C, an infection that now kills more Americans than HIV/AIDS.

The vaccine would be a first of its kind -- not working like traditional vaccines that rely on the body's immune system to form an antibody response, but instead a "gene-based vaccine designed to stimulate the body's immune system to prevent hepatitis C from taking hold," according to Chief Operating Officer Tom Woiwode, who was quoted in the article.

Thankfully, vaccines exist for hepatitis A and B, but so far, none for type C, so if this new vaccine works, it would be welcome news to everyone in the hepatitis community.

A report published in a February issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine sheds light on a scary new fact: Hep B and Hep C are now responsible for more deaths than AIDS/HIV.

A public health program that addresses living with hepatitis C -- similar to the ones available for AIDS patients --  is sorely needed, said the study's co-author, Dr. John W. Ward in The New York Times:

"The declines in H.I.V. reflect the accomplishments in building a public health response to the epidemic that improved screening and provided means of access to effective treatment," he said in the Times.

Should you be tested for hepatitis C?

With Thanksgiving approaching--and then the onslaught of more food, drink, family and indulgence that follows--you might be in need of a strategy for keeping yourself on track. To simplify your needs, consult these eight straightforward tips. You might even consider printing out this list and re-reading it when you need some guidance.

The 4 million Americans affected by Hepatitis C may have some good news coming to them today: Vertex Pharmaceuticals' experimental drug, telaprevir, has performed even better than expected in clinical trials.

Three quarters of patients in the trial who got 12 weeks of the drug were found to have no trace of the virus in their blood for 24 weeks following treatment. This is considered a sustained virulogic response and the closest thing to a cure that currently exists.

"The community hopes that if telaprevir is approved by the F.D.A. that it will be accessible and affordable to everyone," Lorren Sandt, chairwoman of the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable, told the New York Times. As of now, the drug is expected to cost tens of thousands of dollars for a course of treatment.