Experimental treatment may help fight deadly Ebola virus

An experimental treatment for the deadly Ebola virus proved effective in about half of monkeys with disease symptoms, findings that show promise for the development of therapies for humans, according to researchers. The death rate for people infected with the Ebola virus is as high as 90 percent, and the virus has caused numerous deaths in Africa over the past several years. In addition to being a health concern, the virus is also considered a potential bioterrorism threat. In the recent study, researchers gave the treatment, called MB-003, intravenously to monkeys 104 to 120 hours after they were infected with the Ebola virus and had developed symptoms. Forty-three percent of the monkeys recovered, according to the study published online Aug. 21 in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The MB-003 “cocktail” is made up of so-called monoclonal antibodies, which are able to recognize infected cells and trigger the immune system to destroy...