Ebola

Researchers have identified how the Ebola virus reproduces by interacting with the human protein ubiquitin, revealing a new target for therapeutic intervention. This finding, part of a collaborative study involving experts in various medical fields, offers insights into viral replication processes and potential pathways for developing effective Ebola treatments.A U.S.-Canada study co-led by UdeM researchers offers key understanding of Ebola virus replication and potential therapeutic targets.Scientists in Canada and the…

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We're used to hearing about viruses spreading from wildlife to humans, but infection across species can go in the reverse, too.Just over 1,000 mountain gorillas are left in the world, and any mass mortality event will push this species further to the brink.For this reason, the often lethal Ebola virus – which scientists estimate has already reduced global gorilla numbers by one-third – is a significant concern.A team of scientists from the US and the Democratic Republic of Congo wanted to know just how deadly an Ebola…

In February, a 23-year-old Tanzanian fisherman suddenly fell ill, having just returned from a busy trading outpost in the middle of Lake Victoria. Back at home in Bukoba, a district in northwestern Tanzania, he was hit by bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. He developed a fever and began bleeding from his body openings. On March 1, he died.His family and community conducted a routine burial—not knowing this gathering would be the beginning of a deadly outbreak. Soon, some of those present began to fall ill. On March 16,…

At least eight people have been infected and five are dead (including one healthcare worker) in a new outbreak of the Marburg virus in Tanzania, according to a Monday statement from the World Health Organization. It is Tanzania’s first-ever confirmed outbreak of the deadly disease.Yet even so, the country has quickly sprung into action to respond to the Marburg emergence, said the WHO. Tanzania’s National Public Health Laboratory was able to test and confirm all eight cases. Officials identified 161 contacts of the…

A new outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus has infected a suspected 25 people and potentially killed nine in the Central African country of Equatorial Guinea, the World Health Organization announced this week. There have been 15 previously confirmed Marburg outbreaks, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the current one, with a beginning that dates back to early January, is Equatorial Guinea’s first.Following the WHO’s official confirmation of the outbreak on Monday, neighboring…

PUBLIC HEALTH Ebola vaccine trial on hold A planned clinical trial of vaccines against the Sudan ebolavirus likely will not go forward, after traditional containment methods appear to have stamped out the outbreak of Ebola that surfaced in Uganda on 20 September. An international effort moved at record speed to deliver two experimental vaccines against the virus, which differs from the Zaire ebolavirus that caused the massive West Africa outbreak in 2014–16. The…

Last week, Uganda announced uplifting news about the Ebola outbreak that surfaced there in mid-September: The last known patient had recovered and been discharged from a hospital. Health officials hope that signals the spread of the virus has slowed dramatically, if not stopped altogether. Yet the aggressive containment efforts that led to the waning of the outbreak also means a quickly arranged trial of experimental ebolavirus vaccines faces formidable hurdles.…

An ongoing Ebola outbreak has infected and killed dozens of people in Uganda. Health authorities in the country and] the World Health Organization (WHO) have announced plans to begin a clinical trial for three Ebola vaccine candidates. Licensed vaccines for Ebola exist, but they are not effective against Sudan ebolavirus, the species responsible for the outbreak. Doses of the vaccine candidates are expected to be delivered to Uganda this week. The clinical trial is the latest effort to stem an outbreak that has already…

In a revelation that may help Uganda combat its outbreak of Ebola, the pharmaceutical giant Merck has acknowledged to Science—after repeated inquiries—that it has up to 100,000 doses of an experimental vaccine for the deadly viral disease in its freezers in Pennsylvania and will donate them. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ugandan government are discussing if and how these doses can be incorporated into one or more clinical trials of other candidate…