Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesvirus (EEHV) is a rare disease that has killed five elephants in Odisha.
- EEHV is as a type of herpes virus that can cause a highly fatal hemorrhagic disease in young Asian elephants between the ages of 1 and 12.
- If a young elephant dies before reproducing, it affects the population of the species as a whole in the concerned geography.
- When EEHV is triggered, the elephant dies of massive internal bleeding and symptoms which are hardly visible, like reduced appetite, nasal discharge, and swollen glands.
- The disease is usually fatal, with a short course of 28-35 hours.
- There is no cure for herpes viruses in animals or in humans
