BHUBANESWAR: A seven-year-old female elephant, Kamala, is suspected to have died of herpes virus in Nandankanan Zoological Park here on Thursday. Kamala is the third elephant to have died of the virus in the zoo between August 26 and September 19.
Kamala was undergoing treatment for herpes virus but she could not be saved. The zoo officials said Kamala was brought to the zoo from College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry on November 22, 2013 when it was three-months-old.
Earlier, Chandan and Julie died in the zoo after getting infected by the virus.“As a precautionary measure, we have separated the remaining five female elephants and antiviral doses are being administered to them. We are also collecting the samples of their blood platelets to ascertain whether their count is low or normal,” said Deputy Director, Nandankanan Zoological Park, Jayant Kumar Das.
If the blood platelet count is low then there is a possibility that the elephant has been infected by the virus. The pachyderms usually show symptoms of sudden illness, which include reduced appetite, swollen glands on both sides of the face and nasal discharge when infected by the virus.
Das said that they are in touch with the experts from Centre for Wildlife Health, OUAT, and Assam to take preventive steps and protect the animals from being infected by the herpesvirus.
Investigation is on to ascertain the reason behind the outbreak of herpesvirus in the zoo, he added. Elephant endotheliotropic herpes viruses can cause highly fatal hemorrhagic disease when transmitted to young Asian elephants.