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The battle seems to be closing in on Ebola. Researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have found a single monoclonal antibody from a human Ebola virus disease survivor that kept non-human primates safe from it.

Though an injection was given to three test monkeys five days after the infection, it managed to fight off the Ebola virus, according to a press release. With single monoclonal antibodies, or proteins attacking viruses, it might be possible to brandish a weapon against Ebola.

The process was complicated. The team first gathered and analyzed blood test samples from a 1995 Ebola outbreak survivor in Kikwit and identified antibodies in his blood. Some of these were isolated. The scientists gave a lethal dose of Zaire ebola virus to four rhesus macaques, and then treated three of them with the monoclonal antibodies, mAb114, for three days. The fourth monkey was not given any dose.

The results were remarkable. The control monkey died, while the others recovered.

The mAb114 was found to neutralise the virus by binding to the core of its glycoprotein and blocking off its interaction with receptors on human cells.

Researchers are excited about the new discovery and want further tests to take it forward.

The findings are available across two articles released on Feb. 25, 2016, in the journal Science.