Monkeys infected with the Ebola virus have been cured by a chemical cocktail administered 24 hours after the initial exposure. The breakthrough could eventually result in a similar human treatment for this disease, which kills up to 90% of those infected.
According to the report in Nature, researchers based at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Canada, administered three different antibodies to macaques monkeys infected with the Zaire virus — the deadliest strain of Ebola, and a scourge to those living in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon. The concoction, named ZMAb, was given to two monkeys 24 hours after being infected, and the other two 48 hours after infection - and all four survived without side effects. One monkey that was not treated died within five days of the infection.
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Image of Ebola virus via Shutterstock.com/Creations.
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