Den er måske verdens mest dødbringende virus og ombringer stort set alle sine ofre – men forskerne er på vej til at kunne beskytte os mod den
Scientists have developed a vaccine that protects mice against a deadly form of the Ebola virus, BBC online reports Tuesday.
First identified in 1976, Ebola fever kills more than 90 per cent of the people it infects.
The researchers say that this is the first Ebola vaccine to remain viable long-term and can therefore be successfully stockpiled. The results are reported in the journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.
Ebola is transmitted via bodily fluids, and can become airborn. Sufferers experience nausea (kvalme), vomiting (kaster op), internal bleeding and organ failure before they die.
Although few people contract Ebola each year (around 1.200 people have died of Ebola virus infection since 1976), its effects are so swift and devastating that it is often feared that it could be used against humans in an act of terroism.
The new vaccine contains a synthetic viral protein, which prompts the immune system to better recognise the Ebola virus, and is much more stable when stored long-term.
The vaccine protects 80 per cent of the mice injected with the deadly strain, and survives being “dried down and frozen,” said biotechnologist Charles Arntzen from Arizona State University who was involved in its development.
He said the next step is to try the vaccine on a strain of Ebola that is closer to the one that infects humans.
Sygdommens historie (fra www.netdoktor.dk)
Ebola-sygdom er opkaldt efter floden Ebola i DR Congo (tidligere Zaire). Virus blev opdaget i 1976 efter et udbrud i det vestlige Sudan og den tilstødende del af Zaire, der resulterede i ca. 400 dødsfald.
Umiddelbart kan man undre sig over, at en så dødelig sygdom ikke for længst har lagt Afrika øde. Forklaringen er, at virus er så farligt, at de fleste smittede hurtigt sygner hen og dør. Sygdomsudbruddet brænder derfor ud, inden ofrene smitter andre.
Det står i modsætning til et andet virus, der også stammer fra regnskoven, nemlig hiv, som findes i patienten i årevis inden symptomerne opstår.
