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Scientists have made a breakthrough in developing a novel vaccine to prevent a fatal virus that affects young elephants.

The inoculation, developed by an international scientific group, is designed to stop the serious illness caused by EEHV, which is currently a leading cause of death in juvenile Asian elephants.

In trials that involved mature elephants at Chester Zoo, the vaccine was found to be harmless and, importantly, to stimulate components of the immune system that assists in combating viruses.

Prof Falko Steinbach described this as "a pivotal step in our efforts to safeguard Asian elephants".

It is anticipated that the result of this first-of-its-kind trial will open the door to averting the fatalities of juvenile elephants from the harmful condition caused by this virus.

Severe Consequences

EEHV has had a particularly destructive impact in captive environments. At one facility alone, seven baby elephants have died to it over the past ten years. It has additionally been found in wild elephant herds and in certain sanctuaries and care centers.

It causes a haemorrhagic disease - unchecked bleeding that can be fatal within a day. It results in death in over eighty percent of instances in juvenile elephants.

Comprehending the Danger

Why EEHV can be so dangerous is still unknown. Many mature elephants host the virus - apparently with no negative impact on their health. But it is believed that young calves are especially susceptible when they are being transitioned from milk, and when the protective defenses from the maternal nutrition decrease.

At this stage, a calf's natural defenses is in a delicate state and it can become overpowered. "It may lead to really severe illness," Dr Katie Edwards stated.

"It does affect wild elephants, but we don't have an precise count of how many fatalities in total it has caused. For elephants in captivity however, there have been over a hundred deaths."

Immunization Creation

The research team, headed by animal health experts, created the new vaccine using a proven "scaffold". Essentially, the basic structure of this vaccine is identical to one routinely used to vaccinate elephants against a virus called cowpox.

The scientists seeded this immunization framework with components from EEHV - non-infectious bits of the virus that the elephant's defense system might identify and respond to.

In a pioneering experiment, the team tested the new vaccine in several fit, adult elephants at the zoo, then examined blood tests from the vaccinated animals.

The lead researcher commented that the results, released in a scientific journal, were "better than we had hoped for".

"They showed, clearly that the vaccine was able to activate the generation of immune cells, that are vital to fighting viral infections."

Future Steps

The subsequent phase for the scientists is to try the vaccine in more juvenile elephants, which are the creatures most at risk to severe disease.

The present immunization involves multiple injections to be given, so another aim is to determine if the same protective dose can be provided in a simpler way - perhaps with fewer jabs.

The conservation scientist explained: "Ultimately we want to employ this vaccine in the elephants that are in danger, so we want to ensure that we can deliver it to where it's needed."

Prof Steinbach continued: "We think this is a significant advancement, and not necessarily only for the elephants, but because it additionally shows that you can design and use vaccines to help threatened animals."