Diagnostics and therapeutics for Ebola hemorrhagic fever: application of monoclonal antibody.

Ebolaviruses, members of the family Filoviridae, cause severe hemorrhagic fever (Ebola virus disease: EVD) in humans and nonhuman primates with case fatality rates of up to 90%. No effective prophylaxis or treatment for EVD is yet commercially available. The latest out- break of EVD in West Africa has highlighted the urgent need for the development of thera- peutics and diagnostics. This outbreak has indeed accelerated efforts to develop antiviral countermeasures and unapproved vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics were used during the outbreak, some of which have undergone clinical trials. This article reviews recent advances on the development of therapeutics and diagnostics for EVD, particularly focusing on the util- ity of virus-specific monoclonal antibodies.