Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) has killed young elephants 07/10/2019 – Posted in: Daily News

Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus

 

For: Preliminary

Topics covered:

  • About the Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, its origin, symptoms and vaccine

 

News Flash

In last month, a rare disease caused by a virus called EEHV (Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus) has killed five young elephants in Odisha.

 

Herpesviruses

Herpesviridae is a large family of DNA viruses that cause infections and certain diseases in animals, including humans. The members of this family are also known as herpesviruses.

 

Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 

  • It is a type of herpesvirus that can cause a highly fatal haemorrhagic disease in young Asian elephants.
  • When EEHV is triggered, the elephant dies of massive internal bleeding and symptoms which are hardly visible.
  • The disease is usually fatal, with a short course of 28-35 hours.
  • There is no true cure for herpesviruses in animals or in humans.

 

Concern

If a young elephant dies before reproducing, it affects the population of the species as a whole in the concerned geography.

 

Background

  • The virus has been identified in the pulmonary nodules of African elephants as far back as the 1970s.
  • The first recognised fatal case of EEHV in an Asian elephant was identified at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., in 1995.

 

Way Forward

  • An Asian elephant calf’s recovery after falling ill due to EEHV in Chester Zoo, UK.
  • Central Zoo Authority of India will set up a national committee of scientists to develop protocols for the country lest an EEHV outbreak occurs elsewhere in the future.

 

Source: Indian Express

 

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