A team of doctors has just tested a promising treatment in primates after the onset of symptoms of hemorrhagic fever. 43% of them were protected.
Ebola hemorrhagic fever is one of the most viral viral pathologies known in humans according to the WHO. While its case fatality rate can reach up to 90% of those affected, researchers at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) have just tested a promising treatment on macaques.
43% protection after symptoms appear
This team therefore tested this new treatment on 7 monkeys carrying the Ebola Zaire virus, the most virulent strain. A new treatment called for the moment MB-003 and which is actually a cocktail of 3 monoclonal antibodies already tested in previous studies. So far this product had shown 100% protection of non-human primates when administered one hour after exposure. In addition, other analyzes have also shown that administered 48 hours after exposure, thanks to this product, two thirds of the monkeys are protected. In this new study which has just been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, these researchers went further by showing that 3 primates were cured after receiving MB-003 intravenously between 104 and 120 hours after the onset of infection, therefore after the onset of symptoms of the disease. That is to say a protection of 43% of symptomatic primates tested without side effects.
Results to be confirmed in humans
While there is currently no treatment or vaccine for Ebola fever, the results of this study are raising high hopes in the international scientific community. The next stage of this work will therefore consist in confirming this test first on a larger scale, then on other animals, before considering then passing the human being. On the other hand, if these trials really lead to the development of a treatment, this drug should be quite cheap and quick to produce. The 3 antibodies making up this experimental treatment are synthesized from tobacco plants.
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