Health Canada has approved a drug being touted as a cure for hepatitis C, a disease believed to have infected hundreds of thousands of Canadians, many of whom are unaware they harbour the virus. The drug, sold under the brand name Epclusa, is a once-daily pill taken for 12 weeks that can rid the body of all six strains of hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can lead to severe liver damage and liver cancer if left untreated. "This is really a cure," Dr. Jordan Feld, a liver specialist at Toronto Western Hospital, said of the medication, also known by its generic chemical designation sofosbuvir-velpatasvir.