JGV logo Journal of General Virology
First posted online 27 November 2000 ARTICLE ABSTRACT
Rec 14 September 2000; Acc 14 November 2000 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.17409-0

Genetic and ultrastructural characterization of a European isolate of the fatal endotheliotropic elephant herpesvirus

B. Ehlers,1 S. Burkhardt,2 M. Goltz,1 V. Bergmann,3 A. Ochs,4 H. Weiler3 and J. Hentschke2

1 Robert Koch-Institut, Nordufer 20, 13353 Berlin, Germany
2 Institut für Lebensmittel, Arzneimittel und Tierseuchen, Invalidenstr. 60, 10557 Berlin, Germany
3 Institut für Veterinär-Pathologie der Freien Universität Berlin, Straße 518, Nr. 15, 14163 Berlin, Germany
4 Zoologischer Garten Berlin AG, Hardenbergplatz 8, 10787 Berlin, Germany

A male Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) died at the Berlin zoological gardens in August 1998 of systemic infection with the novel endotheliotropic elephant herpesvirus (ElHV-1). This virus causes a fatal haemorrhagic disease in Asian elephants, the so-called endothelial inclusion body disease, as reported from North American zoological gardens. In the present work, ElHV-1 was visualized ultrastructurally in affected organ material. Furthermore, a gene block comprising the complete glycoprotein B (gB) and DNA polymerase (DPOL) genes as well as two partial genes was amplified by PCR-based genome walking and sequenced. The gene content and arrangement were similar to those of members of the Betaherpesvirinae. However, phylogenetic analysis with gB and DPOL consistently revealed a very distant relationship to the betaherpesviruses. Therefore, ElHV-1 may be a member of a new genus or even a new herpesvirus subfamily. The sequence information generated was used to set up a nested-PCR assay for diagnosis of suspected cases of endothelial inclusion body disease. Furthermore, it will aid in the development of antibody-based detection methods and of vaccination strategies against this fatal herpesvirus infection in the endangered Asian elephant.

Get textClick here for full text HTML

UpJGV Direct table of contents


© 2000 SGM

This article is now available in the March 2001 print issue of JGV (vol. 82, 475–482). The complete issue of the journal may be seen in electronic form on JGV Online.