COLUMBUS – The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has become one of a handful of zoos in the U.S. to have its own on-site DNA testing lab that can provide an early warning of an infection that is a leading causes of death among elephants.
Just months after losing 13-year-old Asian elephant Beco to elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, a common but often deadly virus, zoo officials announced the opening of the lab, which performs polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests, which quickly diagnose infectious diseases and provide genetic information, Dr. Priya Bapodra-Villaverde, the zoo’s senior veterinarian, said.
The Columbus Zoo is just the fourth U.S. zoological park to have an on-site lab.
EEHV is found in both African and Asian elephants in the wild and in human care and, while the virus can also be asymptomatic and not cause illness, it can rapidly become fatal, particularly for younger elephants, Bapodra-Villaverde said.
Zoo officials hope data collected will not only help treat elephants and lead to development of an EEHV vaccine.