New Hope of a Cure For Ebola? Antiviral Compound Cures Infected Monkeys

A cure for the deadly Ebola Virus might just be on its way.

In a new scientific study and testing conducted by a research team led by Dr. Sina Bavari, USAMRIID Science Director, a new compound was found to be an effective cure for Ebola after testing on Ebola-infected Monkeys resulted to a 100 percent survival rate, Medical News Today (MNT) reports.

Using "cell culture" and "animal models", the researchers were able to evaluate and determine the effectiveness of the new small-molecule antiviral agent against various pathogens that include the Ebola virus.

Additionally, as cited by MNT, the compound was reported to not only entirely remove the Ebola virus but it has also show improvements in the Monkeys as there are significant reduction in "viral load" and "physical signs of disease" such as internal bleeding and tissue damage.

"This is the first example of a small molecule, which can be easily prepared and made on a large scale that shows substantive post-exposure protection against Ebola virus in nonhuman primates. In addition to 100% survival in treated animals, the profound suppression of viral replication greatly reduced the severe clinical signs of disease," Dr. Bavari said via MNT.

According to the report, the said small molecule can be used to develop a certain compound called GS-5734 that could cure the Ebola virus.

On the other hand, MNT mentioned that the Biopharmaceutical company, Gilead Sciences is already conducting the Phase 1 of their clinical studies on using the newly discovered compound in healthy volunteers.

However, the research team who administered the use of the compound on Monkeys hopes that they will be able to use the "animal efficacy rule" of the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to develop the so-called "safety and pharmacokinetic profile" of the of the compound without the use of human trials which might be deemed unethical.

The results of the study was presented during the IDWeek Conference held in San Diego, California.

As described by the World Health Organization, Ebola Virus, previously called Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a fatal disease that is transmitted to people from wild animals. Fatality rates of the disease is at 50 percent but the most recent outbreaks around the world shows a varying fatality rate of 20 to 90 percent.

The symptoms of the virus includes sudden fever fatigue, muscle pain, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rashes, impairment of kidneys and the liver functions as well as internal and external bleeding.

The WHO report added that there are currently no licensed Ebola vaccines but two potential cures are currently undergoing evaluation.