Woodland Park Zoo- PRESS RELEASE

July 2, 2007

Fact Sheet: Cause of Death of Asian elephant Hansa

Contact:
Gigi Allianic, Wendy Hochnadel
206.684.4838; c:206.349.3533
gigi.allianic@zoo.org

Cause of death of Asian elephant Hansa
Final results of the necropsy indicate that Hansa died of a newly discovered elephant herpesvirus that has never before been identified by science.

The disease, which does not yet have a name, attacks blood vessels throughout the body, causing death. This unnamed virus will eventually be named by viral taxonomists based on its genetic composition.

Hansa had no other health issues or complicating factors present at the time of death. There were no clinical signs or laboratory abnormalities to indicate severe disease or an illness that would result in death.

The most closely related viruses are the Asian and African elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses, known collectively as EEHV. This newly identified virus is not the same as EEHV. It is a newly identified elephant herpesvirus that is significantly different on a genetic level. Its genetic difference is why it could not have been detected previously.

What the scientific community knows

  • The virus is a new discovery in the science community that was detected for the first time on June 28 as part of the research into the cause of Hansa’s death.
  • The world’s leading experts conducted scores of assays and subsequently had to create a new test over the past three weeks because previous methodologies were unable to detect the virus. 
  • This is not the same as EEHV – it is different.
  • Several laboratories are working to characterize and better understand this new disease, which could take months to years.
  • This new virus most likely evolved over time with its host – elephants.
  • Two elephant herpesviruses have been previously documented that cause disease and death in wild and captive elephants. Two known cases have been documented in Asian elephants in the wild. Since 1983, 18 Asian elephants in North America have died from EEHV. Only three have survived.
  • Every animal species that has been investigated has herpesviruses. For example, at least nine herpesviruses have been identified in humans.
  • Herpesviruses are transmitted from animal to animal and tend to be species-specific. They can remain hidden in an animal for years, never causing disease or death. It is very difficult to detect herpesvirus in healthy animals.

Necropsy laboratory tests
As part of the necropsy on Asian elephant Hansa, dozens of tests were run at the following laboratories:

  • Northwest ZooPath (Monroe, Wash.)
  • University of California (Davis, Calif.)
  • Michigan State University (East Lansing, Mich.)
  • Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Md.)
  • Phoenix Central Laboratory (Everett, Wash.)
  • National Elephant Herpesvirus Laboratory, National Zoo (Washington, D.C.)
  • Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (Washington State University, Pullman, Wash.)
  • National Veterinary Services Laboratories, USDA, APHIS (Ames, Iowa)
  • Johne’s Testing Center (University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, Madison, Wisc.)
  • Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine (Ithaca, NY)
  • University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine (Gainesville, Fla.)

What is unknown

  • How Hansa contracted the virus.
  • If other wild or captive elephants have been infected with the newly discovered virus.
  • How common it is.
  • A treatment for the nameless virus.

For further information
Laura K. Richman, DVM, Ph.D., Diplomate, ACVP, 301.398.4741

Dr. Richman is the world’s leading expert on elephant herpesviruses. She was among a team of zoo pathologists who identified EEHV in 1995 while investigating the sudden death of Kumari, a 16-month-old Asian elephant born at Smithsonian National Zoo. They discovered it was a novel herpesvirus that causes a hemorrhagic (bleeding) disease in elephants. The earliest case was later confirmed in an elephant that died in 1983. Richman continues research on EEHV at the National Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus Laboratory at Smithsonian National Zoo.

Laura Richman obtained a DVM from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and completed her pathology residency at the Smithsonian National Zoo. She subsequently completed her Ph.D. in molecular virology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, in the laboratory of Dr. Gary Hayward, studying elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses.

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