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Ebola virus: from discovery to vaccine

Abstract

Ebola virus, being highly pathogenic for humans and non-human primates and the subject of former weapons programmes, is now one of the most feared pathogens worldwide. In addition, the lack of pre- and post-exposure interventions makes the development of rapid diagnostics, new antiviral agents and protective vaccines a priority for many nations. Further insight into the ecology, immunology and pathogenesis of Ebola virus will promote the delivery of these urgently required tools.

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Figure 1: Geographical locations of Ebola-virus outbreaks.
Figure 2: Filovirus particles.
Figure 3: Pathogenesis model.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank many colleagues in the field for their helpful discussions and suggestions. In particular, we thank D. Dick and A. Lacquement for critical review of the manuscript. Our work on filoviruses was supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Kempkes-Stiftung, the European Community and Health Canada.

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Correspondence to Heinz Feldmann.

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Feldmann, H., Jones, S., Klenk, HD. et al. Ebola virus: from discovery to vaccine. Nat Rev Immunol 3, 677–685 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri1154

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