Clinical review of Elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus （EEHV） associated disease in Asian elephants （Elephas maximus）

Abstract

Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus （EEHV）, which is recognized as the cause of fatal hemorrhagic disease in young Asian elephants, has caused many deaths in human managed and wild elephants worldwide and has become the leading cause of death in Asian elephants in the last 20 years. To date, researchers from around the world have been working to protect Asian elephants from EEHV, which is naturally hosted by elephants and infected latently like other herpesviruses. It causes fatal hemorrhagic disease in young elephants when blood levels of the virus rise abnormally for some reason. Although the response to treatment after the onset of the disease is poor and effective treatment has not yet been established, aggressive treatment in the early stages of the disease has been shown to improve the survival rate. Therefore, early diagnosis and early treatment by establishing a routine inspection system are required in Asian elephant managers.