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Scientists have achieved a breakthrough in developing a new immunization to combat a deadly virus that affects juvenile 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 young Asian elephants.

In trials that involved mature elephants at the facility, the vaccine was found to be safe and, importantly, to stimulate components of the immune system that assists in fighting viruses.

A lead scientist described this as "a pivotal step in our efforts to safeguard Asian elephants".

It is hoped that the result of this pioneering trial will open the door to preventing the fatalities of young elephants from the harmful disease caused by this virus.

Severe Consequences

EEHV has had a especially devastating effect in zoos. At one facility by itself, multiple baby elephants have succumbed to it over the last decade. It has additionally been found in natural populations and in certain refuges and elephant orphanages.

It causes a haemorrhagic disease - uncontrolled bleeding that can be deadly within a day. It leads to death in more than 80% of instances in juvenile elephants.

Understanding the Threat

Why EEHV can be so dangerous is remains unclear. Many mature elephants host the virus - seemingly with no adverse effects on their health. But it is believed that young calves are especially vulnerable when they are being weaned, and when the protective antibodies from the maternal nutrition decrease.

At this stage, a young elephant's immune system is in a precarious balance and it can become overwhelmed. "It may lead to really severe disease," a lead conservation scientist stated.

"It does affect elephants in nature, but we lack an precise count of how many deaths in total it has caused. For elephants in captivity though, there have been over a hundred deaths."

Vaccine Development

The research team, headed by veterinary scientists, created the novel vaccine using a proven "framework". Essentially, the basic structure of this vaccine is the same to one commonly employed to immunise elephants against a virus called a related virus.

The researchers incorporated this immunization framework with proteins from EEHV - non-infectious bits of the virus that the animal's defense system might identify and respond to.

In a world-first experiment, the team evaluated the new vaccine in three healthy, mature elephants at Chester Zoo, then analysed blood tests from the vaccinated animals.

Prof Steinbach stated that the results, released in a scientific journal, were "more successful than anticipated".

"They showed, unequivocally that the vaccine was effective to activate the production of T cells, that are vital to combating viral infections."

Next Phases

The subsequent phase for the scientists is to test the vaccine in more juvenile elephants, which are the animals most vulnerable to severe illness.

The current immunization requires four shots to be administered, so another aim is to work out if the equivalent effective amount can be given in a more straightforward way - perhaps with less jabs.

Dr Edwards explained: "In the end we want to employ this vaccine in the elephants that are at risk, so we want to ensure that we can deliver it to where it's necessary."

Prof Steinbach added: "We think this is a significant step forward, and not just solely for the elephants, but because it additionally shows that you can design and use vaccines to assist threatened animals."