INDIANAPOLIS — A fourth elephant at the Indianapolis zoo has tested positive for a deadly virus.
A spokesperson for the Indianapolis Zoo says they detected the deadly ELephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus (EEHV) in their 12-year-old female, Zahara, on May 20.
Zahara was their fourth case in less than nine weeks, but was caught early because the zoo had implemented regular testing after the first elephant became ill.
READ | Indy Elephant sick with EEHV
Because of that early detection, they were able to quickly begin treatment on Zahara and she has responded well to treatment, the zoo says. "We are optimistic that she will have a full recovery."
"All of this speaks to the tremendous work by our veterinary and elephant care teams. Colleagues around the country have stated that our vets are now the experts on dealing with EEHV in African elephants. That really describes how magnificently our teams have responded to this very difficult series of events. At our encouragement, many other zoos are now testing their African elephants."
EEHV is the same virus that killed Nyah and Kalina and infected the zoo's only male elephant, Kedar. Kedar has improved with treatment and the zoo says the virus is "nearly undetectable."
EEHV is unforgiving and aggressive, striking Asian and African elephants in the wild, in sanctuaries and in zoos. We are very grateful for everyone’s kindness and healing thoughts for Kedar and will continue to provide updates on any changes in his condition.
