Bhunte: The baby elephant

Bhunte noticed that Mina was not playing with him past two weeks. When he went to check, he found that Mina had a swollen (cyanotic) tongue, her face was swollen (oedema) and she had blood in her defecation. Most of the time, she was sleepy. Mina’s mom was crying bitterly, but she was helpless. Bhunte found that many elephants carry a virus known as Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) which is generally nonfatal. EEHV are consists of 8 genotypes. But, in some elephants, specially young ones, it may cause EEHV-Haemorrhagic Disease (EEHV-HD) and they may die. The symptoms include loss of appetite, lethargy, increased heartbeat, decreased blood-cell count, cyanosis (bluish cast) of the tongue, mouth ulcers, and oedema (head and trunk). These viruses are specific to elephants and are not infectious to other species. But the sad fact is, most of the calves and juveniles die because of EEHV-HD, mostly in captivity. Scarcely studied in wild, this viral infection is quite complex, the source for this viral disease is not yet known and there is no specific vaccination; the treatment too lacks the effectiveness and are mostly expensive. Bhunte was sad again. He wished that Mina will recover soon and they will play near the “kere”…

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