Realization of an Effective Vaccine Against Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus

EEHV is the single largest cause of death for juvenile Asian elephants in North America and Europe. Furthermore, EEHV-associated deaths have been documented in wild elephants in their natural range countries in both Africa and Asia, adding yet another threat to these endangered species. With IEF support among others, the Ling laboratory in Houston, Texas has spent the last several years developing the tools needed to discover what parts of the EEHV virus might be useful for developing a vaccine that can induce protective immunity for Asian elephants. This project uses those tools to develop and evaluate an anti-EEHV vaccine and the possibility of adapting it for use in African elephants as well. In 2024 the first doses of this vaccine were administered to Asian elephants, and work will continue to monitor protective immunity with the goal of gaining necessary results to immunize the rest of the at-risk elephant population.

IEF #EX1033

Project Years: 2020 – 2025

Project Partners:
Paul Ling, Baylor College of Medicine