Ebola is not alone. KEP Director Tony Goldberg and colleagues have discovered another virus co-infecting Ebola patients in Sierra Leone: GB virus C (GBV-C; genus Pegivirus, related to Hepatitis C virus). Interestingly, GBV-C is associated with _increased_ survival in Ebola patients. GBV-C is best known for the fact that it delays the progression of AIDS in HIV-infected people, through as-yet unknown immunological mechanisms. Is this virus good? Time will tell. For one thing, the results are confounded by age, which affects both survival and GBV-C infection, making it difficult to tell whats causing what. Still, these findings are highly intriguing. They show that viruses exist in communities, and that weve barely scratched the surface when it comes to understanding how they interact.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 00:27:48 +0000