Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered that the deadly ebola virus uses a “molecular fist” to punch its way out of vesicles – the secure pockets that cells keep captured viruses and other unwanted agents in until they can be disposed of.

Once it has punched its way out of the vesicle, the virus escapes into the fluid environment inside the cell – the cytoplasm – where it wreaks havoc by converting the cell machinery into a virus-replication factory.

The team behind the discovery, led by Lukas Tamm, professor of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, writes about it in the Journal of Virology.

The finding identifies an important target for blocking the infection process of a deadly pathogen for which there is currently no defense, and many fear may be used for bioterror.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever is one of the most virulent of human diseases. There is no cure, and up to 9 out of 10 people who become infected die, depending on which strain is involved.

The deadly, highly contagious virus is spreading in the African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. In April 2014, the aid agency MSF said Guinea was facing an unprecedented outbreak of ebola.

Meanwhile, there are concerns that ebola will eventually spread around the world unless we find a way to stop it.