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Scientists have made a major advance in creating a new vaccine to prevent a deadly virus that targets young elephants.

The inoculation, produced by an global scientific group, is designed to stop the severe illness caused by EEHV, which is currently a leading cause of death in juvenile Asian elephants.

In trials that included mature elephants at Chester Zoo, the vaccine was found to be harmless and, crucially, to stimulate components of the body's defenses that assists in fighting viruses.

A lead scientist described this as "a landmark moment in our work to safeguard Asian elephants".

It is anticipated that the result of this first-of-its-kind study will pave the way to preventing the deaths of juvenile elephants from the harmful condition caused by this virus.

Severe Consequences

EEHV has had a especially devastating impact in captive environments. At one facility alone, multiple young elephants have died to it over the last decade. It has additionally been found in natural populations and in certain sanctuaries and care centers.

It causes a bleeding disorder - uncontrolled hemorrhaging that can be deadly within a day. It leads to death in more than 80% of cases in juvenile elephants.

Comprehending the Danger

Why EEHV can be so dangerous is still unclear. Many adult elephants host the virus - apparently with no negative impact on their health. But it is believed that juvenile elephants are especially vulnerable when they are being transitioned from milk, and when the protective defenses from the mother's milk decrease.

At this stage, a young elephant's natural defenses is in a delicate state and it can become overwhelmed. "It may lead to really severe illness," a lead conservation scientist stated.

"It impacts elephants in nature, but we lack an exact number of how many deaths in overall it has resulted in. For elephants in human care though, there have been more than 100 deaths."

Immunization Creation

The scientific group, headed by veterinary scientists, developed the novel vaccine using a tried and tested "scaffold". Basically, the core design of this vaccine is the same to one routinely used to vaccinate elephants against a virus called a related virus.

The researchers incorporated this immunization framework with components from EEHV - harmless bits of the virus that the elephant's defense system might identify and respond to.

In a pioneering trial, the team tested the new vaccine in three fit, mature elephants at the zoo, then examined blood samples from the vaccinated animals.

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

"The results demonstrated, clearly that the vaccine was effective to activate the production of T cells, that are vital to combating viral infections."

Next Phases

The next step for the researchers is to test the vaccine in younger elephants, which are the creatures most at risk to serious illness.

The current vaccination involves four injections to be administered, so an additional objective is to determine if the equivalent protective dose can be given in a simpler way - possibly with fewer injections.

Dr Edwards clarified: "In the end we aim to use this vaccine in the elephants that are at risk, so we want to ensure that we can deliver it to where it's necessary."

Prof Steinbach added: "We believe this is a significant step forward, and not necessarily only for the elephants, but because it also shows that you can design and use vaccines to assist threatened animals."