More than 11,000 people died during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa from 2013-16, demonstrating both the deadly nature of the virus and the limitations of the medication used to fight it.
More than 11,000 people died during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa from 2013-16, demonstrating both the deadly nature of the virus and the limitations of the medication used to fight it.
Now, University of Guelph researchers have shown that an innovative antibody delivery method could offer an effective way to prevent and treat Ebola infection.
“Our goal is to make an antibody-based therapy that can protect against all strains of Ebola, and potentially Marburg virus, as well,” says Prof. Sarah Wootton, Department of Pathobiology, who, along with PhD student Laura van Lieshout, found a new way to fight Ebola. “It would be used to stop the spread of the virus in outbreak situations.”
Wootton says monoclonal antibody therapies (mAbs) hold promise for the treatment of Ebola virus infections. But mAbs are costly to produce and provide only short-term immunity.
Read more at University of Guelph
Image: PhD student Laura van Lieshout and Prof. Sarah Wootton (Credit: University of Guelph)
