During 2011-2016, we collected serum from bats of the 3 aforementioned species in Singapore and screened samples for evidence of exposure to
filoviruses.
This is a disturbing indication that the
filoviruses might be harbored across a much larger geographic range then previously assumed.
DeRisi is excited about another possibility: Perhaps the snake viruses are an ancient ancestor to the arenaviruses and
filoviruses.
The study has for the first time shown that mammals have harboured
filoviruses for at least tens of millions of years, in contrast to the existing estimate of a few thousand.
Her primary research interests are high-containment microbiology and aerobiology, aerosol hazards of
filoviruses, different virus inactivation and disinfection methods, and development of animal models of filovirus infection.
Although EBOV vaccination efforts have shown tremendous promise, current candidate vaccines provide no protection against other
filoviruses that also present an outbreak risk.
The product is an RNA dependent-RNA polymerase inhibitor that has indicated broad-spectrum activity in vitro against more than 20 RNA viruses in nine different families, such as
filoviruses, togaviruses, bunyaviruses, arenaviruses, paramyxoviruses, coronaviruses and flaviviruses.
The new molecule can block the action of numerous virus including HIV-1, influenza A,
filoviruses, poxviruses, arenaviruses, bunyaviruses, paramyxoviruses and flaviviruses.
The cell surface receptor of
filoviruses has not been identified but electron microscopy studies suggest that
filoviruses bind to a broad range of cells and enter the cell through endocytosis.
Editorial Note: Ebola virus is a member of a family of RNA viruses known as
filoviruses.
Ebola viruses are known as
filoviruses for their long, filamentlike appearance under a microscope.
BCX4430 represents an exciting research stage project that could become a breakthrough for the treatment of hemorrhagic fevers caused by flaviviruses and
filoviruses.
