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Ebola therapy protects severely ill monkeys

Nature volume 514, pages 41–43 (2014)Cite this article

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A blend of three monoclonal antibodies has completely protected monkeys against a lethal dose of Ebola virus. Unlike other post-infection therapies, the treatment works even at advanced stages of the disease. See Article p.47

The filoviruses known as Ebola virus and Marburg virus are among the most deadly of pathogens, with fatality rates of up to 90% (ref. 1). Early this year, a new strain of the Zaire species of Ebola virus emerged2 in the West African country of Guinea and quickly spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The outbreak persists despite the best efforts of local and international authorities, and is now the largest filovirus outbreak on record, with no end in sight. There are no licensed vaccines or post-exposure treatments against Ebola, so moving the most promising interventions forward is a matter of utmost urgency. On page 47 of this issue, Qiu et al.3 report that rhesus monkeys can be completely protected from lethal Ebola infection using ZMapp — a blend of three monoclonal antibodies. Crucially, the treatment protected monkeys even when it was administered as late as 5 days after exposure to the virus, at a time when the animals were severely ill.

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Thomas W. Geisbert

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thomas W. Geisbert is at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston National Laboratory, Galveston, Texas 77550-0610, USA.,

    Thomas W. Geisbert

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Correspondence to Thomas W. Geisbert.

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Geisbert, T. Ebola therapy protects severely ill monkeys. Nature 514, 41–43 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13746

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