ZURICH (Reuters) – A second elephant has died from elephant herpes at Zurich Zoo, staff there said on Monday, less than two weeks after the same virus claimed her brother.
Omysha, an eight-year-old Asian elephant, died on Sunday night despite receiving anti-viral drugs and blood plasma infusions, zoo spokesperson Pascal Marty said.
Omysha’s sister Chandra and mother Indi were given time to say goodbye to her, an important consideration in animals with strong social ties, he added.
Two-year-old brother Umesh died from the same virus at the end of June.
“It’s very sad that Omysha has died. Our staff did everything we could for her, but unfortunately they weren’t able to save her,” Marty said.
“It’s a very emotional time – the staff live and work with the animals, see the births and deaths, and they really get to know them.”
Nearly all elephants carry the elephant herpes virus latently, which means they do not show any symptoms and it cannot be detected in tests.
The disease particularly affects young elephants, whose immune system is not mature enough to produce antibodies to fight it.
Pathologists have begun examining Omysha to better understand the virus and develop better treatment methods, the zoo said.
The zoo said there were no other acute cases of herpes in its six other elephants, though staff were keeping a close eye on the youngest, a five-year-old called Ruwani.
(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
