Open AccessPost-exposure treatment of Ebola virus disease in guinea pigs using EBOTAb, an ovine antibody-based therapeutic
Author(s) -
Stuart Dowall,
Andrew Bosworth,
Emma Rayner,
Irene Taylor,
J. Landon,
I. Gordon Cameron,
Ruth Coxon,
Ibrahim Al Abdulla,
Victoria Graham,
G.A. Hall,
Gary P. Kobinger,
Roger Hewson,
Miles W. Carroll
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/srep30497
Subject(s) - ebola virus , outbreak , virology , polyclonal antibodies , antibody , guinea pig , monoclonal antibody , disease , virus , medicine , biology , immunology , pathology
Ebola virus (EBOV) is highly pathogenic, with a predisposition to cause outbreaks in human populations accompanied by significant mortality. An ovine polyclonal antibody therapy has been developed against EBOV, named EBOTAb. When tested in the stringent guinea pig model of EBOV disease, EBOTAb has been shown to confer protection at levels of 83.3%, 50% and 33.3% when treatment was first started on days 3, 4 and 5 post-challenge, respectively. These timepoints of when EBOTAb treatment was initiated correspond to when levels of EBOV are detectable in the circulation and thus mimic when treatment would likely be initiated in human infection. The effects of EBOTAb were compared with those of a monoclonal antibody cocktail, ZMapp, when delivered on day 3 post-challenge. Results showed ZMapp to confer complete protection against lethal EBOV challenge in the guinea pig model at this timepoint. The data reported demonstrate that EBOTAb is an effective treatment against EBOV disease, even when delivered late after infection.