Laura Bennett
Longitudinal study of Asian elephants, Elephas maximus, indicates intermittent shedding of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1 during pregnancy
Bennett, Laura; Dunham, Stephen P.; Yon, Lisa; Chapman, Sarah; Kenaghan, Megan; Purdie, Laura; Tarlinton, Rachael E.
Authors
Stephen P. Dunham
Dr LISA YON LISA.YON@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Sarah Chapman
Megan Kenaghan
Laura Purdie
Rachael E. Tarlinton
Abstract
Introduction: EEHV-1 is a viral infection of elephants that has been associated with a fatal haemorrhagic syndrome in Asian elephants. Previous studies have suggested that pregnant animals may shed more virus than non-pregnant animals.
Methods: This study examined whether pregnancy affected the frequency or magnitude of shedding of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1 (EEHV1) using Taq man real-time PCR on trunk washes from four female elephants from a UK collection over three time periods between 2011 and 2014. These periods included pregnancies in two animals (period 1 and period 3). Behavioural observations made by keepers were also assessed.
Results: During period 1 there was a high degree of social hierarchical instability which led to a hierarchy change, and was associated with aggressive behaviour. Also during period 1 EEHV-1 shedding was of a higher magnitude and frequency than in the latter two time periods.
Conclusions: These results suggest that there is no clear relationship between shedding and pregnancy, and that behavioural stressors may be related to an increase in EEHV-1 shedding.
Citation
Bennett, L., Dunham, S. P., Yon, L., Chapman, S., Kenaghan, M., Purdie, L., & Tarlinton, R. E. (2015). Longitudinal study of Asian elephants, Elephas maximus, indicates intermittent shedding of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1 during pregnancy. Veterinary Record Open, 2(1), Article e000088. https://doi.org/10.1136/vetreco-2014-000088
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Jun 15, 2015 |
Publication Date | Aug 4, 2015 |
Deposit Date | Mar 4, 2016 |
Publicly Available Date | Mar 4, 2016 |
Journal | Veterinary Record Open |
Electronic ISSN | 2052-6113 |
Publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 2 |
Issue | 1 |
Article Number | e000088 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1136/vetreco-2014-000088 |
Public URL | https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/759584 |
Publisher URL | http://vetrecordopen.bmj.com/content/2/1/e000088 |
Contract Date | Mar 4, 2016 |
Files
Vet Rec Open-2015-Bennett-.pdf
(1.1 Mb)
PDF
Publisher Licence URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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