đź”— Share this article Vaccine Breakthrough for Lethal Elephant Virus A leading zoo has lost multiple baby elephants to the disease caused by the virus Scientists have achieved a major advance in developing a novel immunization to prevent a deadly virus that affects juvenile elephants. The inoculation, developed by an international research team, is designed to prevent the severe illness caused by EEHV, which is presently a leading cause of death in juvenile Asian elephants. The study included elephants at Chester Zoo In tests that included mature elephants at Chester Zoo, the vaccine was found to be safe and, crucially, to activate components of the body's defenses that assists in combating viruses. Prof Falko Steinbach described this as "a pivotal step in our work to protect Asian elephants". It is anticipated that the outcome of this pioneering study will pave the way to preventing the fatalities of young elephants from the harmful condition caused by this virus. Devastating Impact EEHV has had a especially devastating effect in zoos. At Chester Zoo alone, multiple young elephants have died to it over the past ten years. It has additionally been found in natural populations and in certain refuges and care centers. It causes a bleeding disorder - unchecked hemorrhaging that can be deadly within 24 hours. It leads to death in more than 80% of cases in young elephants. The next step is to test the novel vaccine in younger elephants Comprehending the Danger Why EEHV can be so dangerous is remains unknown. Many mature elephants carry the virus - apparently with no adverse effects on their health. But it is thought that young calves are particularly vulnerable when they are being transitioned from milk, and when the immune-boosting defenses from the mother's milk decrease. At this phase, a young elephant's natural defenses is in a delicate state and it can become overwhelmed. "It may lead to really severe disease," a lead conservation scientist explained. "It impacts elephants in nature, but we lack an exact number of how many deaths in total it has caused. For elephants in captivity however, there have been more than 100 deaths." Vaccine Development The scientists hope the vaccine will ultimately be used to safeguard elephants in their native habitat The scientific group, led by veterinary scientists, developed the new vaccine using a tried and tested "scaffold". Essentially, the basic structure of this vaccine is identical to one commonly employed to immunise elephants against a virus called cowpox. The researchers incorporated this immunization framework with proteins from EEHV - harmless bits of the virus that the elephant's immune system might recognise and respond to. In a pioneering experiment, the team tested the new vaccine in three healthy, adult elephants at Chester Zoo, then analysed blood samples from the innoculated animals. The lead researcher commented that the results, published in a research publication, were "better than we had hoped for". "The results demonstrated, clearly that the vaccine was able to stimulate the production of immune cells, that are vital to fighting viral infections." Future Steps The subsequent phase for the scientists is to test the vaccine in more juvenile elephants, which are the creatures most vulnerable to serious illness. The goal is to develop a vaccine that can be delivered and kept where it is needed The current vaccination requires four shots to be administered, so another aim is to work out if the same protective dose can be provided in a more straightforward way - perhaps with fewer injections. The conservation scientist clarified: "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 deliver it to where it's necessary." The project lead added: "We think this is a significant advancement, and not just solely for the elephants, but because it also shows that you can develop and use vaccines to assist threatened animals."