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

DAMIANI, ARMANDO MARIO; OCHS, ANDREAS; OSTERRIEDER, NIKOLAUS; AZAB, WALID

ARCHIVES OF VIROLOGY

SPRINGER WIEN

Año: 2018

0304-8608

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 routinescreening. 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.