Detection of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus type 1 in asymptomatic elephants using TaqMan real‐time PCR

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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.

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