Fuery Angela, Browning Geoffrey R, Tan Jie, Long Simon, Hayward Gary S, Cox Sherry K, Flanagan Joseph P, Tocidlowski Maryanne E, Howard Lauren L, Ling Paul D
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2016 Mar;47(1):311-8. doi: 10.1638/2015-0072.1.
Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) can cause lethal hemorrhagic disease in juvenile Asian elephants. A number of EEHV types and subtypes exist, where most deaths have been caused by EEHV1A and EEHV1B. EEHV4 has been attributed to two deaths, but as both diagnoses were made postmortem, EEHV4 disease has not yet been observed and recorded clinically. In this brief communication, two cases of EEHV4 infection in juvenile elephants at the Houston Zoo are described, where both cases were resolved following intensive treatment and administration of famciclovir. A quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction detected EEHV4 viremia that correlated with clinical signs. High levels of EEHV4 shedding from trunk wash secretions of the first viremic elephant correlated with subsequent infection of the second elephant with EEHV4. It is hoped that the observations made in these cases--and the successful treatment regimen used--will help other institutions identify and treat EEHV4 infection in the future.
大象内皮嗜性疱疹病毒（EEHV）可在幼年亚洲象中引发致命的出血性疾病。EEHV存在多种类型和亚型，其中多数死亡由EEHV1A和EEHV1B引起。EEHV4已导致两例死亡，但由于这两例诊断均在死后进行，EEHV4疾病尚未在临床上被观察和记录到。在这篇简短的通讯中，描述了休斯顿动物园两只幼年大象感染EEHV4的病例，两例均在接受强化治疗并使用泛昔洛韦后康复。定量实时聚合酶链反应检测到与临床症状相关的EEHV4病毒血症。第一只出现病毒血症的大象从象鼻冲洗分泌物中大量排出EEHV4，这与随后第二只大象感染EEHV4相关。希望在这些病例中所做的观察以及所采用的成功治疗方案能帮助其他机构在未来识别和治疗EEHV4感染。
