Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

Tobacco plant dug may be the cure for 'killer' Ebola virus

Image
ANI London
Last Updated : Aug 06 2014 | 12:00 PM IST

Hopes are high that a drug made from tobacco plants may help in curing killer Ebola virus after two US aid workers, who contracted the virus in Liberia, were treated with an experimental serum.

Sources revealed that within an hour of receiving the drug, one of the recipient's condition was "nearly reversed" and doctors have described the turnaround as "miraculous", Metro.co.uk reported.

Prof Martin Hibberd, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that the drug ZMapp "mimics what happens during a natural infection and so can be seen as a relatively safe way of boosting natural responses".

However, he added that more work with patients still needs to be done.

The killer virus disease has claimed almost 900 lives in Guinea and even Liberia and Sierra Leone have seen a rise in infections.

More From This Section

First Published: Aug 06 2014 | 11:47 AM IST

Next Story