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 Monkeys which were deliberately infected with the Ebola virus have been successfully cured in a trial of a new antibody drug cocktail, raising the possibility of a human cure for the deadly virus. 
 
 The Zaire strain of Ebola is not only the most common strain of the virus but also the deadliest, with a fatality rate of around 90 percent. Medical microbiologists at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Canada, infected 12 cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis), then administered their antibody cocktail, named "ZMab". The four monkeys given the antibodies within 24 hours of infection all made a full recovery, while two of the four given the cocktail within 48 hours also recovered. 
 
 The four who weren't lucky enough to receive any treatment died as expected within five days of infection. The results of the trial were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine on 13 June. It marks the first successful post-infection treatment trial of the virus -- previous treatments have tended to focus on preventing the virus's diseases with vaccination. Worries over Ebola's potential as a biological weapon have driven research into post-infection treatment. 
 
 The antibodies were extracted from mice which had been vaccinated against the Zaire strain, and work by targeting and neutralising the glycoprotein on the surface of the virus that allows it to enter and infect cells. Gary Kobinger, a medical microbiologist from the University of Manitoba and leader of the trial, said "the antibodies slowed replication until the animals' own immune systems kicked in and completely cleared the virus". 
 
 The trial is part of an Ebola treatment called Defilovir, develeloped by Canadian biotechnology firm Deyfrus. They have a phase I clinical trial with human subjects set to begin before the end of 2014. 
 
 Image: Shutterstock ||||| Monkeys infected with the Ebola virus have been cured by a chemical cocktail administered 24 hours after the initial exposure. The breakthrough could eventually result in a similar human treatment for this disease, which kills up to 90% of those infected. 
 
 According to the report in Nature, researchers based at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Canada, administered three different antibodies to macaques monkeys infected with the Zaire virus — the deadliest strain of Ebola, and a scourge to those living in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon. The concoction, named ZMAb, was given to two monkeys 24 hours after being infected, and the other two 48 hours after infection - and all four survived without side effects. One monkey that was not treated died within five days of the infection. 
 
 Gary Kobinger, a medical microbiologist working at the University of Manitoba, led the study. The results were published today in Science Translational Medicine. 
 
 The treatment works by having the antibodies slow down the replication rate of the virus in the infected monkey until its own immune system is able to kick-in and finish the job. The antibodies were derived from mice who were vaccinated with fragments of the virus. The antibodies target and neutralize a glycoprotein on the surface of the virus that allows it to enter and infect cells. Unlike other treatments, Kobinger's cocktail contains multiple antibodies that individually target different locations of the glycoprotein, making it harder for the Ebola virus to resist attack. 
 
 The antibodies themselves are being developed by a biotechnology firm based in Toronto, Canada, called Defyrus. They are working on a larger Ebola treatment called Defilovir, which, along with the antibodies, is expected to work in tandem with an antiviral gene therapy. Defyrus is hoping to test the safety of the treatment in humans in a phase I clinical trial set to begin before the end of 2014. 
 
 Thomas Bowden, a structural biologist at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, noted tha, "This is certainly a viable strategy, and they have only a few steps before they can go through to humans." 
 
 Source: Nature | Science. Top 3D image of Ebola virus via Shutterstock.com/Creations.
– A potentially big breakthrough against the Ebola virus: Researchers came up with a drug cocktail that completely cured infected monkeys, reports io9. In the study, scientists infected 12 monkeys with the particularly lethal Zaire strain of the virus. Four that got the cocktail within 24 hours survived, two of the four that got it within 48 hours lived, and the four who got no dose were dead in five days, notes Wired. "The treatment works by having the antibodies slow down the replication rate of the virus in the infected monkey until its own immune system is able to kick-in and finish the job," explains George Dvorsky at io9. It's not ready for humans, though biologists sound confident it won't be too long before the treatment becomes a staple kept on hand for outbreaks. "This is certainly a viable strategy, and they have only a few steps before they can go through to humans," says one.