Subclinical infection of a young captive Asian elephant with elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1

• Published in: Archives of virology Vol. 163; no. 2; pp. 495 - 500
• Main Authors: Azab, Walid, Damiani, Armando Mario, Ochs, Andreas, Osterrieder, Nikolaus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Vienna Springer Vienna 01-02-2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brief Report; Elephants; Infections; Infectious Diseases; Medical Microbiology; Subclinical infection; Virology; Asian elephants; EEHV-1; Zoo
• ISSN: 0304-8608; 1432-8798
• DOI: 10.1007/s00705-017-3628-2

Elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses (EEHVs) are a continuous threat for young Asian elephants. We report a laboratory-confirmed infection of a 5-year-old female Asian elephant (AZ_2016) in the Berlin Zoologischer Garten. Initially, high EEHV-1 loads were detected in trunk swabs obtained from the young elephant during routine screening. The animal showed no clinical signs except for slight irritability. EEHV-1 was continuously shed for almost one year, with fluctuations in viral load from time to time. Our investigations highlight the continuous threat of EEHV-1 to young captive Asian elephants and stress the importance of routine monitoring of captive elephants to allow early detection of infection.