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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

[Elephant herpes virus--a problem for breeding and housing of elephants].

Herpesvirus infections which take a fatal turn on African elephants as well as on Asian elephants seem to occur increasingly not only in the USA but also in European stocks. The endotheliotropic herpesvirus causes a rapidly progressing and severe disease which makes any therapeutical effort unsuccessful and finally results in death of the animal, especially in young Asian elephants. As all attempts to culture the virus failed up to now, molecular biological procedures have to be used more often for diagnostical purpose together with the common methods of pathology, virology, and electronmicroscopical evaluation. This is a report on the case of 'KIBA', an eleven year old male elephant at the Zoological Garden Berlin, infected with the endotheliotropic elephants herpesvirus. 'KIBA' was born at the Zoo in Houston, Texas, and raised within his herd. Upon arriving in Berlin in November 1997 he adapted to the new premises and climate and new social circumstances without any problems. In June 1998 he already serviced three females of his new herd several times. In August 1998 he died after passing a peracute progression of the disease after residenting in Berlin for only 9 months. The dissection of the animal revealed some evidence on an agent damaging the endothelium. Major signs indicating this agent were bleedings in several serous membranes, mucosa and on the the right atrium, as well as other parts of the myocardium. Furthermore there have been ulcerations at various localisations of the whole digestive tract. Slightly basophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies have been found histologically in endothelial cells of different organ samples. An examination of altered organ-material by electronmicroscopy made some herpesvirus-like particles visible. A virological investigation first revealed evidence of giant cell formations with solitary basophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies in different cell cultures, however, without any distinct cytopathogenic effect. Supported by molecular biological procedures the infection of 'KIBA' could be verified as the elephants herpesvirus. By means of PCR and subsequent sequence analysis a DNA-sequence typical for the elephants herpesvirus could be obtained which showed an identity of 97% with the terminase sequence of the elephant herpesvirus described by American authors. The deduced amino acid-sequences were 100% identical. To the terminase of the human cytomegalovirus, the elephant sequence had an identity of 53% (similarity: 74%). Based on the cooperation of ILAT, Institute of Veterinary-Pathology/Free University Berlin, Robert-Koch-Institut Berlin, and Zoological Garden Berlin, the cause of 'KIBA's' death could be discovered immediately. Possible implications of this case especially on breeding and keeping elephants are discussed briefly.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

An alternative approach using long elephant trunk for extensive aortic aneurysm: elephant trunk anastomosis at the base of the innominate artery.

BACKGROUND: Although a staged elephant trunk procedure has been widely used, the early mortality of the first stage operation as well as the interval mortality between operations remains unsatisfactory. We developed an alternative elephant trunk procedure to reduce mortality and morbidity. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ascending aorta and arch vessels were minimally dissected. During systemic cooling, a four-branched arch graft with a sewing "collar" and a long "elephant trunk" was prepared. The ascending aorta was opened under selective brain perfusion with moderate hypothermia (25 degrees C), and the elephant trunk was then pulled down into the descending aorta using the catching catheter introduced via a femoral artery. The elephant trunk anastomosis using the collar was made at the base of the innominate artery. The arch vessels were divided and closed at aortic stump, and grafted separately as a consequence of the very proximal site for the elephant trunk anastomosis. Between October 1998 and September 2001, 17 patients, ranging in age from 25 to 79 years (mean 67 years) with extensive aortic aneurysm underwent this operation. Preoperative cardiac complications included coronary artery disease in 5, aortic regurgitation in 3, and 3 of these 8 patients had poor left ventricular function with an ejection fraction less than 40%. Nine patients underwent a second stage operation, in 1 of them the permanent elephant trunk procedure was initially attempted but the second stage procedure was done because of increasing endo-leakage. The mean interval between operations was 8 days (range 1 to 14 days) in the remaining 8 patients. In 5 of 6 patients who underwent the permanent elephant trunk procedure, a decrease in the size of the aneurysm based on thromboexclusion was observed using serial computed tomography scans. A single stage repair was performed in 1 patient. The 30-day survival rate of all operations was 100%, however, there was 1 in-hospital death (6%) after the second operation. There was no stroke, however, paraplegia occurred after the first operation in 1 patient (6%) of the in-hospital death. No new phrenic or recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy occurred as a result of surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The present technique using a modification of the elephant trunk technique for extensive aortic aneurysm provides acceptable mortality and morbidity. The present strategy would be an alternative for the standard elephant trunk procedure in some high-risk patients with advanced age and comorbidities.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Ovarian function in the elephant: luteinizing hormone and progesterone cycles in African and Asian elephants.

Serum samples were collected weekly for 3 yr from two female African elephants, for 18 mo from two other female African elephants, and for 2 yr from two female Asian elephants. Animals were not sedated at the time of blood collection. Ovarian cycles, characterized by changes in progesterone and immunoreactive luteinizing hormone (ILH) concentrations, averaged 15.9 +/- 0.6 wk (N = 25) for African females and 14.7 +/- 0.5 wk for Asian females (N = 10). The length of the active luteal phase averaged 10.0 +/- 0.3 wk for African elephants (range 8-14 wk) and 10.6 +/- 0.6 wk for Asian females (range 9-13 wk). Interluteal phases were 5.9 +/- 0.6 wk for African females and 4.2 +/- 0.5 wk for Asian females. One African female (Maliaca) had two extended interluteal phases, both occurring between the months of February and May. Excluding these two periods, there were no differences in the length of the ovarian cycle or the length of the luteal phase between species of elephant. Serum progesterone in both species ranged from less than 50 pg/ml to 933 pg/ml. Average progesterone concentrations during the luteal phase were significantly lower in African elephants compared with Asian elephants (328 +/- 13, N = 30 cycles vs. 456 +/- 23, N = 14 cycles; p less than 0.001). ILH ranged from nondetectable to 11.6 ng/ml. These data suggest that the length of the ovarian cycle in the African elephant is about 16 wk and confirm that the length of the ovarian cycle in the Asian elephant is about 15 wk.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Myth, marula, and elephant: an assessment of voluntary ethanol intoxication of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) following feeding on the fruit of the marula tree (Sclerocarya birrea).

Africa can stir wild and fanciful notions in the casual visitor; one of these is the tale of inebriated wild elephants. The suggestion that the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) becomes intoxicated from eating the fruit of the marula tree (Sclerocarya birrea) is an attractive, established, and persistent tale. This idea now permeates the African tourist industry, historical travelogues, the popular press, and even scholastic works. Accounts of ethanol inebriation in animals under natural conditions appear mired in folklore. Elephants are attracted to alcohol, but there is no clear evidence of inebriation in the field. Extrapolating from human physiology, a 3,000-kg elephant would require the ingestion of between 10 and 27 L of 7% ethanol in a short period to overtly affect behavior, which is unlikely in the wild. Interpolating from ecological circumstances and assuming rather unrealistically that marula fruit contain 3% ethanol, an elephant feeding normally might attain an ethanol dose of 0.3 g kg(-1), about half that required. Physiological issues to resolve include alcohol dehydrogenase activity and ethanol clearance rates in elephants, as well as values for marula fruit alcohol content. These models were highly biased in favor of inebriation but even so failed to show that elephants can ordinarily become drunk. Such tales, it seems, may result from "humanizing" elephant behavior.

Africa↗
PubMed2003

Comparison of glycoprotein B (gB) variants of the elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) isolated from Asian elephants (Elephas maximus).

The recently described elephant endotheliotropic herpesviruses (EEHV) have been associated with the deaths of numerous captive elephants. A proposed tool for the detection of EEHV infection in elephants is the PCR-based screening for EEHV-DNA in whole blood samples. Unfortunately, this detection method has only been successful in post-mortem analyses or in animals already displaying clinical signs of EEHV disease, thus rendering this method unsuitable for identification of carrier elephants. Here, we focus on glycoprotein B (gB) for serologic assay development, since gB is an envelope protein known to induce a neutralising antibody response in other herpesvirus infections. We sequenced the entire gB gene from five Asian elephants with EEHV, representing four different gB variants. Computer-aided methods were used to predict functionally important regions within EEHVgB. An extra-cytoplasmic region of 153 amino acids was predicted to be under positive selection and may potentially contain antigenic determinants that will be useful for future serologic assay development.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2005

Should the "elephant trunk" be skeletonized? Total arch replacement combined with stented elephant trunk implantation for Stanford type A aortic dissection.

OBJECTIVES: To eliminate the residual false lumen in the descending thoracic aorta and improve long-term outcomes of surgical intervention for Stanford type A aortic dissection, we performed the skeletonized "elephant trunk" procedure in the ascending aorta and aortic arch replacement combined with transaortic stented graft implantation into the descending aorta for both acute and chronic type A aortic dissection, and the short-term results were compared. METHODS: Between April 2003 and November 2004, 60 consecutive patients (mean age, 53 +/- 16.7; approximate range, 28-78 years) with acute (n = 36) or chronic (n = 24) type A aortic dissection underwent this procedure. Right axillary artery cannulation was used for cardiopulmonary bypass and selected cerebral perfusion. The stented graft, a 10-cm-long woven Dacron graft with a self-expandable stent, was implanted through the aortic arch during hypothermic circulatory arrest. Enhanced electric beam computed tomography was performed in each patient before discharge, 3 months after the operation, and once each year thereafter to evaluate the postoperative time course of the residual false lumen. RESULTS: Cardiopulmonary bypass time was 166 +/- 38 minutes, and average selective cerebral perfusion and lower body arrest time was 30 +/- 15 minutes. The in-hospital mortality was 3.3% (2/60). Thrombus obliteration of the residual false lumen in the descending thoracic aorta was observed in 92% and 85% of the acute and chronic aortic dissections, respectively, 3 months postoperatively. There was no late death during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The skeletonized elephant trunk procedure is an effective way of closing the residual false lumen of the descending aorta and might contribute to better long-term outcomes for both acute and chronic type A aortic dissection.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1988

Understanding Proteus syndrome, unmasking the elephant man, and stemming elephant fever.

Four patients with Proteus syndrome are reported; 3 of the 4 died of unusual causes. Current findings of the syndrome are reviewed, and the present state of its delineation is assessed with emphasis on what is known about natural history. Differential diagnosis includes neurofibromatosis, Klippel-Trénaunay-Weber syndrome, Maffucci syndrome, epidermal nevus syndrome, and the combination of Bannayan-Zonana syndrome, Riley-Smith syndrome, and Ruvalcaba-Myhre syndrome, now thought to constitute a single disorder. Conditions that may possibly overlap with Proteus syndrome--encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis and Thanos syndrome--receive special attention. Various suggested diagnoses for the elephant man's disorder are evaluated, and it is concluded that he suffered from Proteus syndrome, not neurofibromatosis. Finally, the psychosocial significance of elephant fever (EF) is discussed, and a plea is made for taking the EF out of NF.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Comparative cytogenetics of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) and Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus).

G- and C-banded karyotypes of the two extant species of the mammalian order Proboscidea are presented for the first time. Chromosome complements were 2n = 56 in both Loxodonta africana and Elephas maximus. Comparisons between the species demonstrated a high level of chromosome band homology, with 26 conserved autosomal pairs. The normal diploid karyotype of L. africana had 25 acrocentric/telocentric and two metacentric/submetacentric autosomal pairs. E. maximus differed by having one less acrocentric and one additional submetacentric pair due to either a heterochromatic arm addition or deletion involving autosomal pair 27. Several acrocentric autosomes of L. africana exhibited small short arms that were absent in homologous chromosomes of E. maximus. The X chromosomes in both species were large submetacentric elements and were homologous. However, the small acrocentric Y chromosomes differed; in E. maximus it was slightly larger and had more distinct G-bands than its counterpart in L. africana. Extant Elephantidae appear to be relatively conservative in their rates of chromosomal change compared to some other mammalian families. The high-quality banded karyotypes presented here should prove useful as references in future chromosome analyses of elephant populations and in comparative cytogenetic studies with other ungulate orders.

Africa↗
PubMed2005

Serum immunoglobulin G concentration in Southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina (Linnaeus, 1758), from Elephant Island (Antarctica): sexual and adrenal steroid hormones effects.

Serum immunoglobulin G (IgG; indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), as well as sexual and adrenal steroid hormones' concentrations (radioimmunoassay) were determined in 63 (male and female) Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonine) at different developmental stages (weaned pups, juveniles and adults). In females, IgG values (mean+/-S.D.) were higher (P<0.05) in adults (15.9+/-6.5mg ml(-1)) than in juveniles (7.9+/-4.0mg ml(-1)), but similar to weaned pups (12.0+/-5.0mg ml(-1)). Estrogen concentration was higher (P<0.05) in adults than in the weaned pups. In females, a significant (P<0.05) correlation (R=0.4) between serum IgG level and progesterone concentration was observed. In males, testosterone concentration was higher (P<0.05) in adults than in the juveniles and weaned pups. Aldosterone and cortisol concentrations were higher (P<0.05) in weaned pups (1056.0+/-643.1pmol 1(-1) and 272.7+/-110.0 nmol 1(-1), respectively) than in the juveniles (638.6+/-579.7pmol1(-1) and 152.9+/-97.3nmol 1(-1), respectively) and adults (386.5+/-209.1pmol (-1) and 145.7+/-67.3nmol 1(-1), respectively). These findings indicate that weaned pups are subjected to a higher natural stressful condition in the field. Despite this, humoral immunity, measured through IgG concentration, is not impaired in weaned pups.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed2006

The locomotor kinematics of Asian and African elephants: changes with speed and size.

For centuries, elephant locomotion has been a contentious and confusing challenge for locomotion scientists to understand, not only because of technical difficulties but also because elephant locomotion is in some ways atypical of more familiar quadrupedal gaits. We analyzed the locomotor kinematics of over 2400 strides from 14 African and 48 Asian elephant individuals (body mass 116-4632 kg) freely moving over ground at a 17-fold range of speeds, from slow walking at 0.40 m s(-1) to the fastest reliably recorded speed for elephants, 6.8 m s(-1). These data reveal that African and Asian elephants have some subtle differences in how size-independent kinematic parameters change with speed. Although elephants use a lateral sequence footfall pattern, like many other quadrupeds, they maintain this footfall pattern at all speeds, shifting toward a 25% phase offset between limbs (singlefoot) as they increase speed. The duty factors of elephants are greater for the forelimbs than for the hindlimbs, so an aerial phase for the hindquarters is reached at slower speeds than for the forequarters. This aerial phase occurs at a Froude number of around 1, matching theoretical predictions. At faster speeds, stance and swing phase durations approach asymptotes, with the duty factor beginning to level off, concurrent with an increase in limb compliance that likely keeps peak forces relatively low. This increase of limb compliance is reflected by increased compression of the hindlimbs. Like other tetrapods, smaller elephants are relatively more athletic than larger ones, but still move very similarly to adults even at <500 kg. At any particular speed they adopt greater relative stride frequencies and relative stride lengths compared to larger elephants. This extends to near-maximal locomotor performance as well - smaller elephants reach greater Froude numbers and smaller duty factors, hence likely reach relatively greater peak loads on their limbs and produce this force more rapidly. A variety of lines of kinematic evidence support the inference that elephants change their mechanics near a Froude number of 1 (if not at slower speeds), at least to using more compliant limbs, if not spring-like whole-body kinetics. In some ways, elephants move similarly to many other quadrupeds, such as increasing speed mainly by increasing stride frequency (except at fast speeds), and they match scaling predictions for many stride parameters. The main difference from most other animals is that elephants never change their footfall pattern to a gait that uses a whole-body aerial phase. Our large dataset establishes what the normal kinematics of elephant locomotion are, and can also be applied to identify gait abnormalities that may signal musculoskeletal pathologies, a matter of great importance to keepers of captive elephants.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Evaluation of a multiple-antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in captive elephants.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis has become an important agent of disease in the captive elephant population of the United States, although current detection methods appear to be inadequate for effective disease management. This investigation sought to validate a multiple-antigen enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for screening of M. tuberculosis infection in captive elephants and to document the elephant's serologic response over time using a cross-sectional observational study design. Serum samples were collected from 51 Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and 26 African elephants (Loxodonta africana) from 16 zoos and circuses throughout the United States. Infection status of each animal was determined by mycobacterial culture of trunk washes. Reactivity of each serum sample against six antigens was determined, and the linear combination of antigens that accurately predicted the infection status of the greatest number of animals was determined by discriminant analysis. The resulting classification functions were used to calculate the percentage of animals that were correctly classified (i.e., specificity and sensitivity). Of the 77 elephants sampled, 47 fit the criteria for inclusion in discriminant analysis. Of these, seven Asian elephants were considered infected; 25 Asian elephants and 15 African elephants were considered noninfected. The remaining elephants had been exposed to one or more infected animals. The specificity and sensitivity of the multiple-antigen ELISA were both 100% (91.9-100% and 54.4-100%, respectively) with 95% confidence intervals. Mycobacterium bovis culture filtrate showed the highest individual antigen specificity (95%; 83.0-100%) and sensitivity (100%; 54.4-100%). Serum samples from 34 elephants were analyzed over time by the response to the culture filtrate antigen; four of these elephants were culture positive and had been used to calculate the discriminant function. Limitations such as sample size, compromised ability to ascertain each animal's true infection status, and absence of known-infected African elephants suggest that much additional research needs to be conducted regarding the use of this ELISA. However, the results indicate that this multiple-antigen ELISA would be a valuable screening test for detecting M. tuberculosis infection in elephant herds.

Animal Diseases↗