Scientists discover First Natural Human Antibodies against Ebola Virus

A team of scientists from the United States have discovered a possible cure for Ebola viruses. They have discovered the first natural human antibodies that are capable of neutralizing and protecting animals against all three major disease-causing ebola viruses. The findings could lead to the discovery of first effective ebolavirus therapies and vaccines. 
Scientists have discovered the broadly neutralizing antibodies from the blood of a survivor of the 2013-16 Ebola outbreak. Scientists have also pinpointed the human gene which is expected to be the source of the immune cells that produce these antibodies. These antibodies could emerge as a single therapy to treat all Ebola viruses. 

Background

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. It was first identified in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of Congo in a village near the Ebola River, from which it takes its name. It is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. Fruit bats are natural host of this virus. It spreads through contact with body fluids of inflected persons such as blood, urine and saliva. Symptoms faced by people who have contracted the Ebola virus include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage. In 2014, Ebola virus had erupted periodically mainly across west and east Africa mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. It was the deadly outbreak of the virus in the history that had killed 11,000 people.
 
 

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2017