PERSISTENT LOW-LEVEL INFECTIONS OF ELEPHANT ENDOTHELIOTROPIC HERPESVIRUSES AND ELEPHANT GAMMAHERPESVIRUSESDETECTED IN SKIN NODULES AND SALIVA FROM WILD AND ZOO AFRICAN ELEPHANTS

The goal of this study was to determine which species of Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpesviruses (EEHV) and Elephant Gammaherpesviruses (EGHV) are endemic in wild African elephants, Loxodonta. We collected skin nodule biopsies, saliva and tissues from 43 wild L. africana (African bush elephant) in Botswana, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe; and saliva from 25 wild L. cyclotis (African forest elephant) in Gabon. We also collected saliva over seven years from 7 wild-born L. africana at Six Flags Safari Park, USA, and saliva, blood and tissues from an additional 200 L. africana and Elephas maximus in USA zoos. Conventional polymerase chain reaction and Sanger sequencing of purified DNA from these samples yielded thousands of unambiguous positive genetic matches to known EEHV2, EEHV3A, EEHV3B, EEHV6, EEHV7A, EGHV2, EGHV3B, EGHV4B, EGHV5B, and discovered new species EEHV3C-H, EEHV7B and EGHV1B in African elephants, and EGHV5A in an Asian elephant. Our extensive library of EEHV and EGHV sequences from wild and zoo elephants provide a significant resource to the elephant virologists and conservationists.