Monoclonal Antibody Cures West Nile Virus-Infected Mice

A newly developed monoclonal antibody can cure mice infected with the West Nile virus, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. If further studies confirm the effectiveness and safety of the antibody, it could become one of the first monoclonal antibodies used as a treatment for an infectious disease. In a strain of mice that normally only has about a 10 percent survival rate after West Nile infection, scientists found that single doses of the antibodies given soon after infection could boost survival rates to 90 percent or higher.