Advances Suggest Possible Cures for Ebola and Marburg Virus Eye of Science/Photo Researchers Ebola and its relatives, like Marburg virus, above, are considered among the most fearsome in nature. People infected with these long, wire-shaped filoviruses often bleed to death from every orifice, so the bugs make ideal villains for apocalyptic films like "Outbreak" and "28 Days Later." The infections are considered incurable, but several advances have been made in laboratories suggesting that cures may be possible. None have been tested in the field yet. Late last month, scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases reported that two well-known cancer drugs used against leukemia, Gleevec and Tasigna, prevented Ebola virus from replicating in a lab colony of human kidney cells. Earlier this month, researchers at the United States Army Medical Institute of Infectious Diseases showed that antibodies filtered from the blood of monkeys that survived large doses of Ebola or Marburg virus could protect other monkeys, even if given as late as two days after the new monkeys were infected. Some had no symptoms, while others became only mildly sick. And last year, scientists at the institute showed that multiple treatments with bits of genetic material called small interfering RNAs kept Ebola-infected monkeys from dying. Outbreaks of hemorrhagic fevers are rare, often in villages deep in the African jungle, so field-testing these possible treatments may take years. At present, outbreaks are usually contained by isolating patients and making sure nurses and gravediggers do not touch their bodily fluids.