A team of researchers at Auburn University are working on a potential treatment for viruses like Ebola.
The deadly virus has killed more than 900 people in Africa. Two American aid workers who caught the virus were recently flown back to the United States so they could receive treatment at a specialized hospital in Atlanta.
Auburn researcher Stewart Schneller told WSFA-TV that the goal is to develop a drug that blocks the process through which Ebola hampers the response of the human immune system.
There are no approved treatments for Ebola.
Schneller said drug treatments have advantages over vaccines. He said infants, the elderly and pregnant women cannot receive vaccines. Administering vaccines can also be difficult in remote places.