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Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in developing a new vaccine to combat a deadly virus that targets young elephants.

The inoculation, produced by an international research team, is designed to prevent the severe illness caused by EEHV, which is currently a leading cause of death in juvenile Asian elephants.

In tests that involved mature elephants at the facility, the vaccine was found to be harmless and, crucially, to activate components of the immune system that assists in fighting viruses.

Prof Falko Steinbach called this as "a pivotal step in our efforts to safeguard Asian elephants".

It is hoped that the outcome of this pioneering trial will open the door to averting the deaths of young elephants from the dangerous disease caused by this virus.

Devastating Impact

EEHV has had a particularly devastating impact in zoos. 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 - unchecked hemorrhaging that can be fatal within a day. It leads to death in over eighty percent of cases in young elephants.

Comprehending the Danger

Why EEHV can be so dangerous is remains unclear. Many mature elephants host the virus - seemingly with no negative impact on their health. But it is believed that juvenile calves are particularly susceptible when they are being weaned, and when the protective antibodies from the mother's milk decrease.

At this stage, a young elephant's natural defenses is in a precarious balance and it can become overpowered. "It can cause extremely serious illness," a lead conservation scientist stated.

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

Vaccine Development

The scientific group, headed by animal health experts, developed the novel vaccine using a tried and tested "scaffold". Essentially, the basic structure of this vaccine is the same to one routinely used to immunise elephants against a virus called a related virus.

The scientists incorporated this immunization framework with proteins from EEHV - non-infectious bits of the virus that the animal's immune system might recognise and react against.

In a pioneering experiment, the team evaluated the new vaccine in three fit, adult elephants at the zoo, then examined blood samples from the vaccinated animals.

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

"The results demonstrated, unequivocally that the vaccine was effective to activate the generation of immune cells, that are crucial to fighting viral infections."

Next Phases

The next step for the researchers is to try the vaccine in more juvenile elephants, which are the creatures most at risk to severe disease.

The present vaccination requires four injections to be given, so another aim is to work out if the equivalent effective dose can be given in a simpler way - perhaps with less injections.

The conservation scientist clarified: "Ultimately we want to use this vaccine in the elephants that are in danger, so we need to ensure that we can deliver it to where it's needed."

Prof Steinbach continued: "We think this is a significant step forward, and not necessarily solely for the elephants, but because it additionally demonstrates that you can design and apply vaccines to help endangered species."