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Chinese scientists at Hebei Medical University have recreated a deadly Ebola virus using a glycoprotein found in the virus that killed a group of hamsters within three days of the lethal injection.
According to the study, published recently in Science Direct, researchers found that the hamsters “developed severe systemic disease similar to that seen in human Ebola patients, including multi-organ failure.”
In the study, researchers used an infectious animal disease and added a protein found in Ebola, which helps the virus infect cells and spread throughout the human body. After the injection, some hamsters developed crusts on the surface of their eyes, affecting their vision.
“This indicates that 3-week-old Syrian hamsters infected with the virus have the potential to play a role in the study of optic nerve disorders caused by EVD,” Science Direct quoted the researchers as saying.
Amid concerns over an alleged lab leak of Covid-19 that caused the previous pandemic, Chinese researchers said their aim was to recreate symptoms of Ebola in the lab to better understand the condition and prevent its spread.
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It is important to note that deadly viruses like Ebola require extremely secure facilities of Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4). Therefore, the Chinese researchers used a different virus called vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) to carry the Ebola glycoprotein, which plays a key role in helping the virus enter and infect the cells of its host.
When they removed the organs of the dead hamsters, the researchers said, they found the deadly virus had spread throughout their bodies, including the heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys, stomach, intestines and brain tissue, with the highest levels in the liver.
The researchers further said that the experiment provided rapid pre-clinical evaluation of medical countermeasures against Ebola under BLS-2 conditions.
“Overall, this surrogate model represents a safe, effective, and cost-effective tool for rapid preclinical evaluation of medical countermeasures against EBOV (Ebola virus) under BSL-2 conditions, which will accelerate technological advances and breakthroughs in combating Ebola virus disease,” Science Direct quoted the researchers as saying.
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Published: May 24, 2024, 10:53 PM IST
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