Researchers have made a major advance in developing a novel vaccine to combat a deadly virus that affects young elephants.
The inoculation, developed by an international research team, is designed to stop the severe illness caused by EEHV, which is currently a primary cause of death in juvenile Asian elephants.
In tests that involved adult elephants at Chester Zoo, the vaccine was found to be safe and, importantly, to activate components of the body's defenses that helps fighting viruses.
Prof Falko Steinbach described this as "a pivotal step in our work to safeguard Asian elephants".
It is hoped that the outcome of this pioneering study will pave the way to averting the deaths of young elephants from the harmful condition caused by this virus.
Devastating Impact
EEHV has had a especially destructive impact in captive environments. At Chester Zoo alone, multiple baby elephants have succumbed to it over the past ten years. It has additionally been found in wild elephant herds and in some refuges and care centers.
It causes a haemorrhagic disease - unchecked hemorrhaging that can be deadly within a day. It results in death in over eighty percent of instances in young elephants.
Comprehending the Danger
Why EEHV can be so dangerous is still unknown. Numerous mature elephants host the virus - apparently with no negative impact on their well-being. But it is thought that juvenile calves are particularly susceptible when they are being transitioned from milk, and when the protective antibodies from the mother's milk decrease.
At this stage, a calf's immune system is in a precarious state and it can become overpowered. "It can cause really severe disease," Dr Katie Edwards explained.
"It does affect elephants in nature, but we don't have an precise count of how many deaths in total it has resulted in. For elephants in captivity however, there have been more than 100 deaths."
Immunization Creation
The scientific group, headed by veterinary scientists, developed the new vaccine using a tried and tested "scaffold". Essentially, the basic structure of this vaccine is the same to one routinely used to vaccinate elephants against a virus called cowpox.
The researchers seeded this immunization framework with components from EEHV - harmless parts of the virus that the animal's immune system might recognise and react against.
In a pioneering experiment, the team tested the novel vaccine in three fit, adult elephants at Chester Zoo, then examined blood samples from the vaccinated animals.
Prof Steinbach commented that the results, published in a scientific journal, were "better than we had hoped for".
"They showed, unequivocally that the vaccine was able to stimulate the generation of T cells, that are crucial to fighting viral infections."
Next Phases
The subsequent phase for the scientists is to try the vaccine in younger elephants, which are the animals most vulnerable to serious disease.
The current vaccination requires multiple shots to be administered, so another aim is to determine if the same protective dose can be provided in a more straightforward way - possibly with fewer jabs.
The conservation scientist clarified: "Ultimately we want to use this vaccine in the elephants that are at risk, so we need to ensure that we can get it to where it's needed."
Prof Steinbach added: "We think this is a significant step forward, and not just only for the elephants, but because it also shows that you can develop and apply vaccines to help endangered species."
