Since the beginning of the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, several scientists from the Institut Pasteur, as part of their mandate as a WHO Collaborating Centre on arboviruses and viral hemorrhagic fevers, have been offering their support to international aid plan implemented in collaboration with the Guinean Ministry of Health.

An international team of scientists from Institut Pasteur Paris and Dakar are on the front of the outbreak in Guinea. 

The Institut Pasteur confirmed the outbreak on March 21, 2014. Since the outbreak is still continuing, scientists and materials have been sent from Institut Pasteur Paris and Dakar to Guinea. 

Although it has been known for several years that the adult brain is capable of producing new neurons, how these neurons are integrated into existing, functional nerve circuits has hitherto remained a mystery. Scientists have just shown that new neurons set up a denser network of connections with the rest of the brain in contexts of active (as opposed to passive) motivation and learning.

In the fight against hepatitis C, directing preventive and curative interventions towards sufferers of chronic diseases requiring regular medical care would be an effective means of reducing transmission of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Egypt, and undoubtedly also in other countries with limited resources. This theory has arisen from a mathematical modeling study carried out as part of the ANRS 1211 study, conducted jointly by scientists at the Institut Pasteur, the CNAM and their fellow scientists in Egypt.

Artemisinin is currently the most effective malarial treatment available. However, the recent emergence in South-East Asia of artemisinin-resistant parasites strengthens the urgent need to identify a new generation of antimalarial drugs. In this context, scientists have determined the three-dimensional structure of a promising new therapeutic target for malaria: SUB1.

The innate lymphoid cells contribute to immune defense by maintaining the integrity of the intestinal barrier. ILC are made in the bone marrow but must find their way to the gut mucosa where they perform their function. Scientists have discovered how this migration process is regulated.

Erosive oral lichen planus (OLP) is an auto-immune disease affecting skin and mucous membranes which results in an abnormal immune response against mucocutaneous cells. Today, scientists have proven that the immune cells involved in OLP are the same as those activated during an immune response to human papillomavirus (type HPV-16). This suggests a link between OLP and HPV.

On October 18th, 2014 the Institut Pasteur  in  French Guiana received Mrs. Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research.

The main cause of death in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis is respiratory infection caused by different bacterial populations, which vary according to the age of the patient. Scientists at the Institut Pasteur and Inserm have identified a novel mechanism used by the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterium to hijack the immune system of its host in order to eradicate another bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus ("golden staph"), and take its place in airways.

An international research consortium will assess whether treatment with antibodies in the blood of Ebola survivors could help infected patients to fight off the disease. If proven effective, this straightforward intervention could be scaled up in the short term and provide an urgently needed treatment option for patients in West Africa.