The cure for deadly Ebola virus is closer than ever! Scientists find the key to a working treatment in genetically engineered, cloned ... cows?

New studies aim to cure Ebola with antibodies produced from cows with human DNA

Ebola antibodies are being brewed up in cloned, genetically engineered, cattle. These animals were created with hopes of finding a way to treat the deadly Ebola virus.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to NBC News, the special herd of cattle is currently producing gallons of blood plasma that could be used to fight the virus that has already afflicted more than 21,000 people in West Africa and killed 8,500.

Genetically engineered with human DNA, the unique cows are vaccinated against various deadly diseases such as Ebola. The goal is that the antibodies produced in response to the vaccines can be used to treat people with the diseases.

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The current treatment efforts are taking a similar approach; plasma transfusion between Ebola survivors into Ebola patients is happening in Liberia and at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. Although no one can yet tell if the transfusions are helping at all, researchers are curious to see if the blood of survivors might "kick-start" the immune system in a patient.

Using the genetically-engineered cattle has the potential to take the transfusion idea and make it into a project that helps people on a larger-scale.

"From these animals, we can collect 30 to 60 liters of plasma each month," explained Eddie Sullivan, president and CEO of SAB Biotherapeutics, the company that created the cattle. "That translates into something between 500 to 1,000 human doses per month per animal."

However, the cattle do not produce human blood, so plasma, T-cells and other immune system cells can not be transfused into patients, only the antibodies.

After the cattle are vaccinated against Ebola, plasma is removed and the antibodies are taken out of the plasma. Next, the antibodies are shipped to the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) for testing.

"The first mouse studies have shown we can protect mice one day after they been infected but not two days after they have been infected with a single dose," Schmaljohn told NBC News.

The mice are now being given a dose a day to see if that helps.

SAB Biotherapeutics is also testing their cattle-treatment with hantavirus, a rare killer virus. "Ebola is a much tougher virus to protect against than hantaviruses are," Schmaljohn said. "It is a faster replicating virus. It is more virulent. It is more lethal to humans."

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According to NBC News, the hantaviruses kill between 5 and 10 percent of victims, while Ebola viruses kill 50 to 90 percent.

Despite how expensive the animals are to create and there being only a 10 percent survival rate among the calves, assuming the approach works, the fully human immune systems they have could be "a gold mine for treatments."

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