Towards broad protection against Ebolaviruses

Evaluation of: Hensley LE, Mulangu S, Asiedu C et al.: Demonstration of cross-protective vaccine immunity against an emerging pathogenic Ebolavirus species. PLoS Pathog. 6(5), E1000904 (2010). The Ebola and Marburg viruses (from the filovirus family) induce deadly hemorrhagic fevers for which there is currently no licensed vaccine or treatment. Frequent outbreaks have occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, in humans and nonhuman primates over the last 15 years or so and constitute a major public health problem. Of particular concern, a new species of Ebolavirus recently emerged in Uganda, highlighting the high potential of these viruses to evolve and the need to develop ‘broad-spectrum’ vaccines against filoviruses. Hensley et al. used their well studied vaccine platform based on DNA vectors and recombinant, replication-defective, adenoviruses producing Ebolavirus glycoproteins to protect cynomolgus monkeys against a heterologous challenge with the new species. Further developments are required before this exper...