A recent close study of the Ebola virus, a disease the World Health Organization says is fatal in up to 50 percent of those infected, have may revealed clues vital for the development of new treatment methods.
In an April 12 press release, the National Institutes of Health reported the 2015 study’s results, which gauged the virus’s genetic activity and impact on one patient’s immune system response and other side effects, including impaired blood clotting and organ shut down. The patient received fluids and palliative care during a nearly four-week hospital stay, but received no medicines under development, the release said.
The WHO says no vaccine currently exists for the virus.
The NIH release characterized the study as a boon to treatment and diagnosis of the deadly virus.
“Although this study represents only a single case, it provides unprecedented detail on the host response to Ebola virus disease and may inform the development of therapeutics designed to boost or accelerate host factors that most effectively counter the virus and promote healing,” the release said.
Researchers from the NIH Clinical Center, the Institute for Systems Biology and the United States Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases also participated.
