Researchers have made a breakthrough in developing a novel vaccine to combat a deadly virus that targets young elephants.
The inoculation, developed by an international scientific group, is designed to stop the serious illness caused by EEHV, which is presently a primary cause of death in juvenile Asian elephants.
In trials that involved adult elephants at Chester Zoo, the vaccine was found to be safe and, crucially, to stimulate components of the body's defenses that helps combating viruses.
Prof Falko Steinbach called this as "a pivotal step in our efforts to protect Asian elephants".
It is anticipated that the outcome of this pioneering study will open the door to averting the fatalities of young elephants from the harmful disease caused by this virus.
Devastating Impact
EEHV has had a especially destructive impact in captive environments. At Chester Zoo by itself, seven young elephants have succumbed to it over the last decade. It has additionally been detected in wild elephant herds and in certain refuges and elephant orphanages.
It causes a bleeding disorder - uncontrolled hemorrhaging that can be deadly within a day. It results in death in more than 80% of cases in juvenile elephants.
Understanding the Threat
Why EEHV can be so dangerous is remains unknown. Many adult elephants host the virus - seemingly with no adverse effects on their health. But it is believed that juvenile elephants are especially susceptible when they are being weaned, and when the protective defenses from the maternal nutrition decline.
At this phase, a young elephant's immune system is in a delicate balance and it can become overpowered. "It can cause really severe disease," a lead conservation scientist stated.
"It does affect elephants in nature, but we don't have an precise count of how many fatalities in overall it has resulted in. For elephants in human care though, there have been more than 100 deaths."
Immunization Creation
The scientific group, headed by veterinary scientists, created the new vaccine using a proven "scaffold". Basically, the basic structure of this vaccine is the same to one routinely used to immunise elephants against a virus called cowpox.
The researchers incorporated this immunization framework with components from EEHV - non-infectious parts of the virus that the animal's immune system might recognise and respond to.
In a world-first experiment, the team evaluated the novel vaccine in three healthy, mature elephants at Chester Zoo, then examined blood samples from the vaccinated animals.
The lead researcher commented that the results, released in a research publication, were "more successful than anticipated".
"They showed, clearly that the vaccine was effective to stimulate the production of immune cells, that are vital to combating viral infections."
Next Phases
The next step for the researchers is to try the vaccine in more juvenile elephants, which are the creatures most at risk to serious illness.
The current immunization requires multiple injections to be administered, so another aim is to determine if the equivalent effective amount can be provided in a more straightforward way - possibly with less jabs.
Dr Edwards explained: "In the end we want to employ this vaccine in the elephants that are at risk, so we need to make sure that we can get it to where it's necessary."
The project lead added: "We think this is a major advancement, and not just only for the elephants, but because it additionally demonstrates that you can design and apply vaccines to help endangered species."
