08/08/2014

Can an Experimental Therapy Be Used to Treat Ebola?

12:14 minutes

This colored transmission electron micrograph reveals morphological details of an Ebola virus particle. Credit: CDC/Cynthia Goldsmith

Two Americans received an experimental treatment after they became infected with Ebola while working with patients in West Africa. Heinz Feldmann, chief of the Laboratory of Virology at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, and Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for the Global Health Council on Foreign Relations, discuss how the serum works and if it should be used more widely.

For more about the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa, listen to our segment from last week.

Segment Guests

Heinz Feldmann

Heinz Feldmann is chief of the laboratory of virology at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories at the National Institutes of Health in Hamilton, Montana.

Laurie Garrett

Laurie Garrett is a journalist and author with the Anthropos Initiative in New York, New York.

Meet the Producer

About Alexa Lim

Alexa Lim was a senior producer for Science Friday. Her favorite stories involve space, sound, and strange animal discoveries.