New Ebola treatment offers hope for cure

Canadian researchers said Wednesday they have developed an antibody treatment that may be able to prevent death from Ebola virus even three full days after infection.

The findings, published in the US journal Science Translational Medicine, suggested that it may be possible to develop a cure for Ebola even after the virus can be detected in the blood and disease symptoms have become apparent, Xinhua reported.

Although rare, Ebola virus is considered one of the most if not the most aggressive virus known to date in part because of its rapidity to kill, which can be within one week from exposure or three to four days from when the first symptoms become apparent.

"For this reason, such a treatment has been considered by many to be closer to the domain of science fiction than contemporary scientific research," said lead author Qiu Xiangguo from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

"This study shows that a way to develop a cure capable of stopping Ebola virus on its track only a few days before death," she added.

The researchers carried out a trial on Ebola-infected monkeys and said they have tentatively scheduled a phase I safety trial, slated for the end of 2014 or early 2015, to test the therapy in humans.