Ebola, which first emerged in two simultaneous outbreaks in
South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, has taken over 11,500 victims
since its major outbreak in 2013. The deadly virus is a part of the virus
family Filoviridae and the genus of Ebolavirus. There are five different
species of Ebola that have been identified within the genus (Zaire, Bundibugyo,
Sudan, Reston, and Taï Forest) and two of them, Bundibugyo and Sudan, are
untreatable with the vaccine that was developed in December 2016.
Previously, the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine was costly to produce and
was of no help to victims infected with the Bundibugyo or Sudan strains. However,
scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch think they have found a more
effective cure. Thomas Geisbert and his colleagues developed a cocktail they
call MBP134 that has successfully cured monkeys infected with the three
different lethal strains of Ebola (Zaire, Bundibugyo, and Sudan).
Although human trials have not yet begun, Geisbert and his
team are confident that the cocktail will work on humans and save valuable time
by creating a cure that is effective regardless of the strain the patient carries.
Additionally, MBP134 will save money because scientists won’t have to create a
different vaccine for each independent species of Ebola.
The U.S. Army, the Canadian government, and the U.S.
National Institutes of Health funded Dr. Geisbert’s research with the goal that
countries affected by the virus can have a treatment ready to prevent any
future Ebola outbreaks and they have made valuable progress in the fight
against the virus.
More can be read at: https://www.voanews.com/a/breakthrough-made-in-treating-ebola-virus/4740748.html,
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)30560-9/fulltext,
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ebola-virus-disease
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Julio Contreras
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