Experimental Ebola Drug Shows Positive Signs in Animal Study

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A new study tested the efficacy of the experimental drug ZMapp on treating Ebola-infected monkeys, with potentially promising results.

According to the study, published in the journal Nature, a small group of monkeys, infected with the Ebola virus, were given either the ZMapp antibody cocktail or another antibody combination. Of the six monkeys given the ZMapp cocktail, all six were cured.

Researchers note that the study is just the very beginning, as the study involved a small sample size and animal subjects. The Ebola strain the monkeys were infected with was also a different strain than the current outbreak in West Africa.

Because of the nature of the study, it cannot provide insight into whether Americans Nancy Writebol and Dr. Kent Brantly were aided by having been given the ZMapp cocktail.


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