Running head: HERPESVIRUSES DISEASE

Herpesviruses Disease
Kabombo Kasongo
Salt Lake Community College

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Herpesviuses disease

Somewhere around 1983 and 2000, 8 different zoos in North America had 11 different elephants.
2 African, and 9 Asian that got sick from a disease called Herpesvirus (HV) which kills elephants
a lot. About five cases were studied originally with six cases that was recognized as being related
to the HV with similarities in their cases. About two Asian elephants survived their infection
after a three to four week therapy with the anti-HV medication famciclovir. They developed new
diagnostic methods through the course of these studies to recognize the disease as polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) testing as an early diagnostic too. They also found two distinct but similar
HV that was affecting both African and elephant (loxodonta Africana) and the Asian elephants
(elephas Maximus), these 2 viruses were confirmed being similar with a PCR test. Materials
and Methods
They used clinical and pathological evaluation of recent cases (1995-98) for collection of one or
more blood samples, retrospective pathological studies , PCR assay and sequencing for DNA
test , serological testing was used for antibodies to bluetongue virus by enzyme- linked
immunosorbent assay and more. The other they used was high performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The samples were collected from all the elephants with the
HV infection. Number of the most currant cases (1995-1998) included elephants from 1to 4 and
their disease status was analyzed. They usually had physical exams including samples of blood
that was taken for hemograms, bacterial and viral cultures, serological testing, Vitamin E levels,
and to know the famciclovir levels. Elephants #3& 4 were treated with famciclovir orally or
rectally at 500mg/70kg three times a day for 3 to 4 weeks and they survived the HV infection.

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Elephants #1 and 2 had autopsies performed with the samples that was taken from all organs; all
of the samples were stored in paraffin, and studied by light microscopes. Elephant #1 had liver,
spleen, and heart samples and fresh serum for tests and other samples, and were frozen at -70C.
Pathology material was requested using a survey sent to the participating zoos through the
American Zoo and Aquarium Association, also by reviewing the mortality records contained in
the Asian and African elephant studbook. They did not find any death associated with HV
infections that were found with the records early in the 20th century in North America. Records
from over 20 elephants that had similar descriptions to Elephant #1, which was the index case,
were acquired. Archival paraffin blocks of lung tissue from healthy wild African elephants
reported to have HV inclusion bodies (IB) were also obtained. These tissues were processed
similarly to elephants #1 and 2 for light and electron microscopy. All slides were reviewed, all
major organs and tissues were examined and data collated
PCR test was done on DNA from blood from elephants #3 and 4 with signs of Endotheliotropic
HV, and on DNA found in lung tissue from the #3 wild African elephants. Primer sets for the
elephant HV terminase and DNA polymerase gene regions were constructed from elephants #1
and 2. PCR testing was done with the product visualized Serological tests from 3 elephants (2
Asian and 1 African) as well as frozen sera from herd mates. The following viruses were tested
for bluetongue virus, Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus of deer, Bovine HV 1, 2, & 4,
Malignant catarrhal fever virus, Equine HV, Equine viral arteritis virus, Encephalomyocarditis
virus, Equine adenovirus , Pseudorabies virus, Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome
virus. The elephants Penciclovir level was tested, (Penciclovir is what famciclovir is converted
to), from the samples drawn several times a day and compared to banked serum samples from
prior to treatment.

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Results
As for the results, Asian elephant number 3 had subcutaneous edema of the head, heck, and
thoracic limbs attributed to endotheliotopic herpesvirus disease.
Elephant #1 had a cyanotic blue tongue and oral ulcers and died on day 5. Elephant # 3 had
bluing of the tongue which started at the tip and moved back on the 3rd to 4th day. Elephant #4
had swelling and bluing of the tongue on the 4th day. Elephant #2 died on the 3rd day. Elephant
#3s tongue bluing and head/neck edema resolved after 9 days of starting treatment, the elephant
also regained strength and resumed eating, Viral levels were checked daily showing levels
dropped to a undetectable level by 8 weeks. Pathological findings of elephants 1 and 2 as well as
seven of the 20 elephants reviewed had similar lesions attributed to the Endotheliotropic HV; six
cases were Asian elephants and one African elephant. Findings include peripheral cardial
effusion with hemorrages, bluing, and multiple ulcers found in the mouth, throat and large
intestine. Microscopic findings included microhemorrhages throughout the heart and tongue
associated with edema, small abnormal appearance of lymphocytes, monocytes and a few
neutrophils between muscle cells, mild/moderate hepatic sinusoidal expansion with multifocal
subacute inflammation, mild hepatocellular vacuolar degenerative changes. Ulcers found in the
laryngeal mucous membranes in elephant #1 were acute, endothelial cells of capillaries in the
heart muscle and tongue muscle and within the hepatic sinusoids of the liver had intranuclear
viral IB. The endothelial cells with the viral IB were in close association with the
microhemorrhages in the heart and tongue. Elephant 1 had almost all bacterial cultures come
back negative. Cultures on multiple areas of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract had no excessive
bacteria population. Tests of liver and heart also were negative for any known viruses. PCR
sequencing of DNA from Elephants 3 and 4 had nearly identical Endotheliotropic HV sequences

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to some of the deceased Asian elephants but all changes were silent mutations. DNA from wild
African elephants contained viral sequences that had 100% protein identity with the HV that was
fatal for the two African elephants in the study. Serological studies showed one herd mate of
elephant 1 had low antibody titer to bovine HV 4 and some others tested had low titers to
malignant catarrhal fever virus and to equine adenovirus. Serosurveys from remaining viruses
were negative Levels of penciclovir from elephant 3 varied from low to high depending on the
time between treatment and sample collection

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Reference

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Reference