New chemical compound could potentially be used to treat Ebola virus infection

Virus spread can be blocked by attacking Ebola’s Achilles’ heel Scientists have found Ebola’s Achilles’ heel: a new kind of chemical compound can block the protein Ebola uses to break out of cells and infect new cells. The compounds, revealed in a new paper in Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, could potentially be used to treat the disease after infection. The outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa between 2013 and 2016 claimed more than 11,000 lives. The global public health threat has led to a resurgence in efforts to tackle the virus with scientific discovery and innovation. Many scientists are now developing vaccines, but they need to be given prophylactically and could only protect against Ebola, leaving people at risk of other hemorrhagic viruses. Viruses replicate by hijacking the machinery in the cells of their host – in the case of Ebola, human cells – and co-opting the cells to...