EEHV

This is really worrying. Clearly the epidemiology is complex and far from understood. It doesn't help with how poorly-publicised the disease is (I've never seen it mentioned in BBC Wildlife, for example) - it's a massive conservation concern and perhaps if there were better publicity it would generate more active support for elephant conservation and drum up more money for research. It's not like it's just an issue that's affecting zoos.

AHVLA/Surrey University were looking for a PhD student a year or so ago, to carry out further research about the virus, with the ultimate goal of creating vaccine. (I hope they found someone, I think it was only partially-funded.) This is probably the ideal way of managing the disease (for captive elephants, anyway), but a vaccine is probably a good few years away, so I hope populations can hang on until then.

The fact that there are many healthy asymptomatic carriers makes it particularly challenging. I assume zoo elephants are now routinely screened before they are moved to new collections? Otherwise that's a great way of spreading the virus! If these were cattle, and this was TB, positive reactors would be culled, but clearly that's not appropriate here (!) - and the vast majority are probably fine. It sounds like it's mainly an issue with calves, whose immune systems have not yet fully developed. But you can't go separating them from the rest of the herd until this has happened, for obvious reasons.

For the time being, I guess the only way of dealing with it is, firstly, to screen zoo elephants prior to movement to new collections (although I suppose there is an argument of, what's the point, if the virus potentially is there in the recipient collection? And what would you do if you found a positive?) And secondly, early treatment with antivirals if there is even the remotest suspicion that a calf has been affected by the virus. I know it says that the antivirals are expensive, and far from 100%, but surely zoos can afford these, and it gives the best possible chance of recovery if treatment is given very early. I guess there's no case for prophylactic use - it sounds like calves can be affected at any time over the first few years of life. The only other thing I can think of is more effective antivirals.

For wild elephants, things look even worse. I expect all that can be done is to wait for a vaccine, then see if it would be feasible to somehow administer this to wild populations - which I would have thought is highly unlikely with these animals! I wish I could be more positive.     

P.S. Thylacine, are you going to keep referring to me as this? 

I am surprised that there is no screening when elephants are being moved around. Why not? Is it down to cost? Or because they wouldn't know what to do with a positive? Or simply an oversight? I thought you could easily screen for this using PCR.

The fact that cabbage (someone with an extensive interest in wildlife) hasn't heard of this says it all to me. More publiciity!!!! 

I studied Latin for five years but can't recall ever encountering the word fossa, they obviously didn't teach me properly. I prefer to pronounce it as in 'fossil'.