Primary Infection May Be an Underlying Factor Contributing to Lethal Hemorrhagic Disease Caused by Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus 3 in African Elephants ( <i>Loxodonta africana</i> )
Taylor Pursell, Jennifer L. Spencer Clinton, Jie Tan, RongSheng Peng, Xiang Qin, HarshaVardhan Doddapaneni, Vipin K. Menon, Zeineen Momin, Kavya Kottapalli, Lauren L. Howard, Erin Latimer, Sarah Y. Heaggans, Gail Hayward, Paul D. Ling
Abstract
Prior to 2019, only five cases of clinical disease from EEHV infection among African elephants had been documented. Since 2019, there have been at least seven EEHV-HD cases in North American zoos, resulting in three fatalities, all associated with EEHV3. Evidence is accumulating to suggest that EEHV-associated clinical illness and death among Asian elephants is due to primary infection and may be associated with waning anti-EEHV antibody levels in young elephants. The development of the EEHV3 serological test described in this study enabled us to confirm that similar dynamics may be contributing to EEHV-HD in African elephants. The ability to screen for EEHV immune status in African elephant calves will have a major impact on managing captive African elephant herds and will provide new tools for investigating and understanding EEHV in wild populations.