Scientists studying the lethal Ebola virus
have said they have found how it blocks and disables the body’ s ability to battle infections in a discovery that should help the search for potential cures and vaccines .
In the largest and deadliest outbreak of the
disease yet recorded , Ebola has killed more
than 1, 000 people in West Africa since
March.
A group of scientists in the United States
found that Ebola carries a protein called
VP24 that interferes with a molecule called
interferon, which is vital to the immune
response.
“ One of the key reasons that Ebola virus is
so deadly is because it disrupts the body’ s
immune response to the infection , ” said
Chris Basler of the Icahn School of Medicine
at Mount Sinai, New York, who worked on
the study.
“ Figuring out how VP24 promotes this
disruption will suggest new ways to defeat
the virus ,” he said.
The team, led by Gaya Amarasinghe from
Washington University School of Medicine,
found that VP24 works by stopping
something called “ transcription factor
STAT1” – which carries interferon’ s antiviral
message – from entering the nucleus of a
cell and initiating an immune response.
“ This study shows just how nefarious the
Ebola virus can be ,” said Ben Neuman, a
virologist at Britain’ s University of Reading
who was not directly involved in this study.
“ Ebola virus carries a small tool that
intercepts the cell ’ s distress signals , and
when this happens , it disables some of the
most useful machinery that our bodies have
for fighting Ebola . That leaves the body with
only crude defences that are less effective
at stopping the virus, and end up causing
much of the damage that can eventually
lead to death. ”
Ebola is one of the most deadly diseases
known in humans and has a case fatality
rate of up to 90 per cent .
In the current epidemic in West Africa , the
virus has infected more than 1, 800 people .
So far , 1, 013 of these have died , the vast
majority in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone .
There are no proven treatments or vaccines
to prevent Ebola , although several biotech
companies and research teams have
potential drugs in development.
Amarasingh’ s team, whose work was
published in the journal, Cell, on
Wednesday, said understanding how Ebola
disarms immune defences would be crucial
in the development of new treatments .
A World Health Organisation- convened
panel of experts said on Tuesday that
patients infected with Ebola in the West
African outbreak could be offered
experimental drugs .
The WHO ’ s panel of medical ethicists said
several drugs had passed the laboratory and
animal study phases of development and
should be fast - tracked into clinical trials
and made available for compassionate use

@ E-bola Stop that thing u are smoking and wake me up when the cure is found.

An impressive finding. 9ja scientists wey get A1 in biology 4 WAEC & NECO shud step-up their game.

Prof Tam David West is a Professor in virology. We need to know what the findings of his team are. I know of this man because of the way he label others as incompetent. This is the time to tap from his 'overflowing competence' and they have all gone underground. In fact, all Nigerian virologists should cover their heads in shame. What are they doing to combat this regional challenge?