Scientists in Canada announced the successful treatment of Ebola viral infection in monkeys. The encouraging results were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine on June 13.
Researchers from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba identified a number of antibodies that corresponded to proteins on the shell of the Ebola virus. They combined the antibodies into a specific cocktail and administered it to four macaques within 24 hours of infection. All four macaques survived. When the cocktail was administered within 48 hours of infection, two of four macaques survived.
Why is the survival of a few monkeys such big news? Ebola hemorrhagic fever, a disease caused by infection with the Ebola virus, is one of the most deadly and little-understood diseases in the world. There is no vaccine, no standard treatment, and the origin of the virus remains unknown.
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