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Science 19 February 1999:
Vol. 283. no. 5405, pp. 1171 - 1176
DOI: 10.1126/science.283.5405.1171
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Reports

Novel Endotheliotropic Herpesviruses Fatal for Asian and African Elephants

Laura K. Richman, 12* Richard J. Montali, 1 Richard L. Garber, 3 Melissa A. Kennedy, 4 John Lehnhardt, 1 Thomas Hildebrandt, 5 Dennis Schmitt, 6 Douglas Hardy, 7 Donald J. Alcendor, 2 Gary S. Hayward 2

A highly fatal hemorrhagic disease has been identified in 10 young Asian and African elephants at North American zoos. In the affected animals there was ultrastructural evidence for herpesvirus-like particles in endothelial cells of the heart, liver, and tongue. Consensus primer polymerase chain reaction combined with sequencing yielded molecular evidence that confirmed the presence of two novel but related herpesviruses associated with the disease, one in Asian elephants and another in African elephants. Otherwise healthy African elephants with external herpetic lesions yielded herpesvirus sequences identical to that found in Asian elephants with endothelial disease. This finding suggests that the Asian elephant deaths were caused by cross-species infection with a herpesvirus that is naturally latent in, but normally not lethal to, African elephants. A reciprocal relationship may exist for the African elephant disease.

1 Smithsonian, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC 20008, USA.
2 Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
3 PathoGenesis Corporation, Seattle, WA 98119, USA.
4 University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37901, USA.
5 Institute for Zoo Biology and Wildlife Research, D10305 Berlin, Germany.
6 Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, MO 65804, USA.
7 Dickerson Park Zoo, Springfield, MO 65803, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lkrichma{at}welchlink.welch.jhu.edu

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