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Researchers have made a breakthrough in developing a new immunization to combat a deadly virus that affects juvenile elephants.

The vaccine, produced by an international research team, is designed to prevent the severe disease caused by EEHV, which is currently a leading cause of death in young Asian elephants.

In tests that involved mature elephants at Chester Zoo, the vaccine was found to be safe and, crucially, to stimulate components of the immune system that helps combating viruses.

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

It is anticipated that the outcome of this pioneering study will open the door to averting the deaths of juvenile elephants from the dangerous disease caused by this virus.

Devastating Impact

EEHV has had a especially devastating impact in zoos. At Chester Zoo alone, multiple young elephants have succumbed to it over the last decade. It has also been detected in wild elephant herds and in certain sanctuaries and elephant orphanages.

It causes a haemorrhagic disease - unchecked bleeding that can be deadly within a day. It leads to death in over eighty percent of cases in juvenile elephants.

Comprehending the Danger

Why EEHV can be so dangerous is remains unknown. Many mature elephants carry the virus - apparently with no negative impact on their health. But it is thought that juvenile calves are especially vulnerable when they are being weaned, and when the protective antibodies from the mother's milk decline.

At this stage, a young elephant's natural defenses is in a precarious balance and it can become overpowered. "It can cause extremely serious disease," Dr Katie Edwards stated.

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

Vaccine Development

The scientific group, led by veterinary scientists, created the novel vaccine using a proven "scaffold". Basically, the core design of this vaccine is the same to one routinely used to vaccinate elephants against a virus called cowpox.

The researchers incorporated this vaccine structure with components from EEHV - non-infectious parts of the virus that the elephant's immune system might recognise and react against.

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

The lead researcher commented that the results, published in a scientific journal, were "more successful than anticipated".

"The results demonstrated, clearly that the vaccine was effective to activate the generation of T cells, that are crucial to combating virus attacks."

Future Steps

The next step for the researchers is to try the vaccine in younger elephants, which are the animals most at risk to serious disease.

The current vaccination requires multiple shots to be given, so an additional objective is to work out if the same effective dose can be provided in a simpler way - perhaps with less injections.

The conservation scientist explained: "Ultimately we aim to use this vaccine in the elephants that are in danger, so we need to make sure that we can deliver it to where it's needed."

The project lead continued: "We believe this is a major advancement, and not necessarily only for the elephants, but because it also demonstrates that you can design and use vaccines to assist endangered species."