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New York, July 31: Researchers are one step closer to developing a widely effective antibody treatment against the three major Ebola viruses that cause lethal disease in humans.
The study found that the isolation of two potent monoclonal antibodies from human survivors of the Ebola virus disease that – in cell culture studies – effectively neutralized Ebola viruses Zaire, Sudan and Bundibugyo.
The antibodies – EBOV-515 and EBOV-520 – also showed the ability to protect against infection by these viruses in animal models.
"Our team was very excited to discover these new antibodies that have the ability to treat all Ebola viruses, such as treatment and prevention for Ebola," said co-author James Crowe Jr. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in the United States. .
The mortality rate is about 50% and the virus is spread by contact with contaminated body fluids, including blood and semen.
A major epidemic in West Africa has claimed more than 11,000 lives between 2014 and 2016.
Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported 29 deaths due to a small epidemic that started in April in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Although further studies are needed, these antibodies could lead to the development of "For people at high risk of being infected with the Ebola virus, the researchers said.
L & # 39; Hope is that antibodies – such as heat-seeking missiles – would seek out and destroy viruses before they can wreak havoc in the body, they said.
For the study, Plasma was obtained from survivors of Ebola virus disease outbreaks in Congo and West Africa.
Monoclonal antibodies were generated from the white blood cells of two survivors who presented the highest activity against the three Ebola viruses.
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