Question

A blood test can be used to determine whether a person has Ebola. People with Ebola have large numbers of specific plasma cells and a specific antibody in their blood. Explain how a blood transfusion from a patient recently recovered from Ebola may be an effective treatment

Answer 1

The patient has RECENTLY recovered from the illness, so it is unlikely that memory cells would be ready and active [it is similar to the delay of efficacy of a vaccine, which, depending on the infection in Q, can take a week to a few weeks to become effective (a vaccine works as a stimulus to produce antibodies, and the specificity of this "provocation" is retained in the form of memory cells)].

So the simple answer is that ANTIBODIES would be transferred in the transfused plasma, which can provide a degree of protection straight away. Yes, you are absolutely correct, it is a form of passive immunity.

Also depends on whether it was a PLASMA transfusion or BLOOD, as there cannot be any memory cells in a plasma transudate

Step-by-step explanation: