title: Detection of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus type 1 in asymptomatic elephants using TaqMan real-time PCR.
abstract: This study assessed the feasibility of identifying asymptomatic viral shedders using a novel TaqMan real-time PCR on trunk washes and swabs from the conjunctiva, palate and vulva of elephants. Six elephants from a UK collection were sampled weekly over a period of 11 weeks for this study. The herd prevalence of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus-1 (EEHV-1) was 100 per cent by PCR. The virus DNA was detected in all the sampling sites; however, the prevalence of virus DNA in the conjunctiva swabs was higher. In addition, Asian elephants from two continental European collections were sampled once and one animal tested positive on a trunk wash. The virus from this animal was phylogenetically typed as EEHV-1A based on 231 nucleotides of the terminase gene.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regents Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hardman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dastjerdi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gurrala
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Routh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Banks
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Steinbach
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bouts
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004606:Elephants / Q000821:virology*; D056727:Endangered Species; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006564:Herpesviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D017201:Virus Shedding
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral