Houston Zoo

The Houston Zoo and its partners will conduct a research project to deepen the zoo community’s understanding of Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV), an enigmatic virus that killed six Asian elephants at the zoo over a 10-year period. EEHV causes severe bleeding in internal organs, including the heart, and has killed more than 50 percent of Asian elephants in North America born after 1980. The research will determine whether any of the currently available anti-herpesvirus drugs have efficacy against EEHV, develop sensitive tests to evaluate specific immune responses to EEHV, and continue attempts to grow the virus in the laboratory. The results of this project will be treatments for elephants with EEHV and a better understanding of elephant immunity which will inform future vaccine development.