Biochemical and virological aspects beyond Ebola virus - Prospects for medications and immunization

Abstract

Ebola virus disease (EVD) has a high fatality rate; currently lacks a treatment or vaccine with proven
safety. In response, the World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa to be a
Public Health Emergency of International Concern. However, Ebola is only transmitted by patients who
already present symptoms of the disease, and infection only occurs upon direct contact with the blood or
body fluids of an Ebola patient. Consequently, transmission of the outbreak can be contained through
careful monitoring for fever among persons who have visited, or come into contact with persons from,
the site of the outbreak. Thus, patients suspected of presenting symptoms characteristic of Ebola should
be quarantined. Despite ongoing efforts directed at experimental treatments and vaccine development,
current medical management of EVD is largely limited to supportive therapy, thus making early case
identification and immediate implementation of appropriate control measures critical. Optimization of
EVD management together with rapid diagnosis, greatly improve the clinical outcome. Recent advances
in diagnostic procedures and new therapies of patients with several drugs in the initial phase of treatment
could further improve the prognosis of EVD cases. This review summarizes the biochemical and
virological characters of Ebola virus and highlights the challenges for development of new effective
antiviral drugs and vaccine for prompt control and prevention of EVD outbreaks.