What is the virus that has killed two Dublin Zoo elephants, with a third testing positive?

Q&A: An explainer on how and why a herpes virus can be lethal for elephants

’s small herd have already died after contracting a lethal virus, and a third member of the herd has now tested positive although she has not yet manifested any symptoms.It is basically a herpes virus although one that causes internal bleeding in elephants and is fatal in 85 per cent of cases. It is called Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus and it has been circulating among elephant communities both in the wild and in captivity for decades.

The first case was reported in a Swiss elephant in 1990, and multiple case reports in captive and wild elephants have popped up in peer-reviewed literature since then, according to the journal Nature. The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute has said EEHV has been responsible for about half of the deaths of young elephants in zoos.

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