Posted on 02/28/2022 10:27:24 AM PST by Red Badger
The idea of zoonotic diseases – that is, diseases that jump from animals to humans – is one we’ve all had to become familiar with over the past couple of years. After all, the leading theory on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that it was a bat disease before it infected humans. Before that there was swine flu, which came from – you guessed it – swine, and bird flu, which came from a similarly eponymous source.
So naturally, it’s in our interest to try to figure out where the next zoonotic disease might come from. A new study, currently available on the Cell Press preprint server while it undergoes peer review, has taken a look at one concerning possibility: a new kind of ebolavirus called Bombali virus, found – for the moment – in bats.
There are six known species of ebolavirus, but the most famous is probably, well, the Ebola virus. For 40 years, this disease lurked around East and Central Africa, every so often causing outbreaks that proved too fatal to become large-scale. But in 2014, Ebola went mainstream, killing thousands.
Up to two-thirds of people who caught the Ebola virus between 2014 and 2016 died from the disease, and other ebolaviruses are similarly deadly. So even though Bombali virus hasn’t yet made it into humans, the researchers wanted to get an idea of how we could cope with an outbreak if it did manage to break out.
Of course, the first thing to check is whether the disease can actually infect humans – otherwise there’s no need to worry – so the researchers took a look at how Bombali virus would interact with human immune systems. After first isolating the virus through a process of reverse genetics, they then exposed it to human macrophages – white blood cells which “eat” invading organisms like viruses.
Like Ebola, the Bombali virus “infected human cells and primary human macrophages,” the authors report, and was able to “efficiently … enter cells” using the same mechanism as its viral cousin. Although both diseases were shown to infect a similar number of macrophages, the researchers found that they altered cells’ RNA in different ways to achieve replication.
And while both induced immune reactions from the blood cells, only Ebola, and not Bombali, prompted an antiviral response to be deployed.
Using a technique known as principal component analysis, the researchers discovered that some of the main differences in the genomic sequence of the two diseases related to genes which encode inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and interferon-stimulating genes – all important parts of the body’s immune response.
That’s the bad news – now for the good. The researchers were also on the lookout for a potential treatment of Bombali, and, since it’s “morphologically indistinguishable from Ebola virus,” they report, they started there. How would Bombali virus respond to current Ebola treatments?
In recent years, two therapies have emerged as potential candidates for Ebola therapies, and they may sound familiar: the broad-spectrum antiviral drug remdesivir, and monoclonal antibody therapies.
While both of these therapies have proved useful against Ebola, not all held up so well against Bombali. Remdesivir did well: when administered at the same dosage as for Ebola it helped suppress virus replication and prevent infection. So did some – but not all – of the monoclonal antibody therapies. That’s because different monoclonal antibodies attack different parts of the virus: it seems the two ebolaviruses, while similar, had enough variation between them to render some of the therapies useless.
While the prospect of yet another new and potentially fatal disease being unleashed on the world is hardly a welcome one, studies like this are a crucial way of preparing ourselves for if the worst should happen. We may never need to know which antiviral drugs and which particular monoclonal antibodies work against Bombali virus – but if we do, we’re now that little bit better armed to fight this potentially devastating disease.
Give it to China they will fix it!!
Bat Ebola could junp to humans but only after getting goosed with Dr. Mengele Fraudski’s gain of function.
I wish these clowns would SHUT UP already!
Could... Might, Maybe, Possible, If this than that... All hypothetical guessing BS!!
We could get hit by a meteor the size of Texas!
The sun could explode
The Yellowstone Park super volcano could erupt and wipe out half the earths population.
The climate change goof balls claim we now have 8.91 years till the final meltdown!
Good grief! Fear mongering and alarmist propaganda 24/7!!
Do these Doom Sayers have a life??
You bet this new virus could jump to humans, especially if Fauci and Gates have their way.
Bad news sells..........
Get rid of Fauci and the problem goes away.
Surprised it took 22comments for the “gain of function” connection.
Basically this article is saying this without saying it. Just saying
Bat ebola! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
ping
**
“I don’t handle pointy fanged, diseased feral Bats very often,
But when I do,
I make sure to find the latest in Antiviral therapies!
“the broad-spectrum antiviral drug Remdesivir, and monoclonal antibody therapies.”
Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll keep my kidneys and won’t put cells from dead (or LIVE) fetuses or MICE in my body.
Dr. Frankenstein/Dr. Fauci, please report to the lab.
Fauci will make sure it jumps from bats to humans.
The good news is that people have had ENOUGH of viruses and FEAR PORN!
They are realizing that this pandemic was a FRAUD from the start. That all the alphabet agencies had NO CLUE how to deal with Covid, but THAT didn’t stop them from destroying lives and economies pretending to.
BUT WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! So the little “geniuses”, “scientists”, took control and lined their pockets with money from the DEAD and injured, and will continue to do so treating the injured ad infinitum.
Curly, Larry, and Moe. But they are sooo CUTE!
“Says study”. Who is Study? Where did he get his education?
It is interesting to look at this "news" source reporting on the FUTURE maybe, kind of, sorta....
IFLScience is a UK-based science website that is a part of LabX Media Group, a Canadian-based corporation located at: LabX Media Group 334 King Street, Unit 2 Midland, ON, Canada L4R 3M8 with remote offices in the UK: IFLScience Limited Woodview Bull Lane Industrial Estate Sudbury CO10 0FD United Kingdom
As to the writer of the article: Katie Spalding -- Freelance Writer -- London -- 382 articles published in 271 days at IFLS
"Potentially devastating disease." "Could." Maybe. Maybe not. but 382 articles in 271 days suggests a lot of words....
Be afraid. Be very afraid. Tomorrow! Could be. Because we have something to SELL you....
About LabX --- LabX is an online marketplace for science and laboratory products, providing a website for buyers and sellers to connect with one another. LabX specializes in scientific, process, electronic testing, and medical equipment.
Source: https://www.labx.com/cms/about-us
Doesn’t a certain prominent doctor hold patent rights on Remdesivir?
Oh there’s “thanks” to go around to some others too...
My old tagline from the CDC website, "“We don’t know how people are infected with Ebola.”
Quick, someone call Dr. Fauci. I am sure he will want to get his friends at Pfizer and ModeRNA to modify this, you know, to study it just in case. Call Bill Gates too, he will probably finance it. There is this lab in Wuhan, that will probably help too.
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