The death of five elephants in Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) of Bhubaneswar within a span of a month was due to the deadly Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus (EEHV), confirmed the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly.
The premier veterinary institute, which has now embarked on a study to find a cure for the fatal virus, has alerted the Dudhwa National Park, Corbett National Park and Rajaji National Park that have a high population of elephants, to take preventive steps to deal with possible herpes attack.
Some cases of EEHV have been confirmed in Kerala and Assam and it is suspected that the virus may be present in North India forests also.
“As herds from Nepal regularly move to forests of UP and Uttarakhand, they may also be carrying the virus,” said RK Singh, IVRI director. The institute had received samples of three elephants from Odisha’s Nandankanan zoo for verifying the cause of death. So far no proven healing medicine was available for this disease, he added.
“We are watching the situation in other parks to check if the virus is present among pachyderms, both in the wild and in captivity, in northern India, and have also started a research on what is an emerging disease,” he said. Forest departments across the country have approached IVRI and are sending blood samples of their elephants to check the presence of virus ever since deaths were reported in the NZP. According to Dr Abhijeet Pawde, principal scientist and in-charge of Centre for Wildlife, IVRI, the deadly virus damages blood vessels of calves and causes hemorrhage, leading to their death.
{{/usCountry}}“We are watching the situation in other parks to check if the virus is present among pachyderms, both in the wild and in captivity, in northern India, and have also started a research on what is an emerging disease,” he said. Forest departments across the country have approached IVRI and are sending blood samples of their elephants to check the presence of virus ever since deaths were reported in the NZP. According to Dr Abhijeet Pawde, principal scientist and in-charge of Centre for Wildlife, IVRI, the deadly virus damages blood vessels of calves and causes hemorrhage, leading to their death.
{{/usCountry}}The EEHV is a fatal hemorrhagic disease and is highly dangerous for elephant calves as they can die within 24 hours of getting infected. Adults are usually carriers of the disease, he said.
“We have asked forest officials to send internal organs, including heart, lung and liver, along with water in which the trunk has been washed, for further study,” he said. Samples of elephants in captivity, including those in other zoos have also been sought. Adult elephants are mostly carriers of the virus. The disease can be fatal for an adult elephant infected with EEHV only if the pachyderm is under stress.
In most cases, a calf catches the virus from adults after coming in close contact with them, he pointed out. Consequently, the disease can be treated with anti-viral drugs, depending on the severity of stress in an elephant, he said.
IVRI experts said there are seven sub-types of EEHV and of these, four are commonly found among Asian elephants. However, out of these, only one strain of EEHV has been detected in India so far. The virus is believed to be transmitted through trunk secretions. They said the final report on these elephants will be prepared in a week.
ALERT ISSUED
The premier veterinary institute, which has now embarked on a study to find a cure for the fatal virus, has alerted the Dudhwa National Park, Corbett National Park and Rajaji National Park that have a high population of elephants, to take preventive steps to deal with possible herpes attack