Ebola & "The Hot Zone"

[Ian A. York]

In article <3rnq6m$c95 at ixnews3.ix.netcom.com> robinso1 at ix.netcom.com (Bill P. Robinson) writes:

>mutated into a new form that was not fatal.  Would these four
>individuals now have any immunity to usually fatal form of Ebola (Ebola
>Zaire) because their immune systems had presumably adapted to the non
>fatal form of the virus (Ebola Reston)?

This was discussed on this group a month or two ago; perhaps if you can 
get hold of the archives you can find a more complete discussion of 
this.  The short answer is that it's certainly possible, but not 
guarenteed, and since there is no way to test this without infecting one 
of the workers with Ebola (in particular, there is no clearly applicable 
animal model where you could test this in) the question is moot.

Ian
-- 
Ian York   (york at mbcrr.harvard.edu)
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney St., Boston MA 02115
Phone (617)-632-3921     Fax  (617)-632-2627