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 Who doesn’t love elephants?They are big and beautiful, extremely intelligent and socially aware. They are quick learners, care for their young as well as those of others, and are playful with a sense of humour. They’re even capable of using tools! The perfect animal, you might say! But here’s the catch... ...unless we do something right now, these wonderful animals might not be around for much longer.Why? Because elephants are threatened by a terrible disease, the so-called ‘Elephant Endotheliotropic Herpes Virus’ (EEHV). It is the most common cause of death among elephants between one and eight years old. Victims of EEHV are almost certain to die within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms of the disease. Due the lack of a vaccine, effective treatment and diagnostics that are both reliable and fast, help almost always arrives too late… We’re determined to do something about this! The researchers at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, want to stop this nightmare of a disease. They want to develop a vaccine effective treatment and better diagnostics in order to make sure that young elephants have a future. So what is the problem? Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) is considered an endangered species by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/7140/0). The  wild Asian elephant population  is continuously being reduced due to poaching and habitat destruction. EEHV is a herpes virus unique for elephants. It may cause acute, often fatal, hemorrhagic disease (EEHV hemorrhagic disease [EEHV-HD]) in young Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), most commonly between 1 and 8 years of age. Affected elephants may peracutely die of the hemorrhagic syndrome caused by EEHV, often within 24 hours of showing initial clinical signs of illness. No treatment and no vaccin A vaccine or effective antiviral treatment is not available. For zoo veterinarians, this disease may be one of the most challenging and daunting aspects of caring for a breeding elephant herd. Based on May 2017 population numbers, EEHV-HD was the cause of 53% of deaths in all Asian elephants born in North America since 1980, making it the single greatest cause of death in this cohort. In Europe, 43 out of more than 200 Asian elephants born since 1995,diedof which 60%  (26) due to EEHV-HD.In fact,  the largest cause of death in Asian elephants in the last decades.similar to the situation in the USA .Much remains to be learned about the impact of EEHV on the estimated 15,000 captive Asian elephants and greater than 40,000 wild elephants across Asia. During the First and Second Asian EEHV Strategy Meetings in 2015 and 2016, more than 80 cases of EEHV-HD were identified in captive Asian elephants in  Asian elephant range countries (Thailand, India, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sabah, Borneo, Laos, and Peninsular Malaysia), with less than 5 elephants surviving EEHV-HD. Research in these countries have demonstrated that EEHV is also a serious concern in wild elephants: more than 120 fatal EEHV-HD cases in wild Asian elephants have been recorded since 2003, based on gross necropsy reports and PCR. Wildlife veterinarians in some countries suspect much higher losses due to EEHV but are limited in their ability to confirm cases due to lack of diagnostic assays and laboratories. EEHV has caused disease in African elephants as well, and more research is needed to better understand the epidemiology in this species. The impact of EEHV on African elephants, both on free-ranging and domesticated  populations remains largely unknown.Healthy Asian and African elephants have been shown to shed one or multiple types of EEHV as part of a natural infection cycle. Based on current research, all adult elephants appear to carry and shed one or more EEHV strains and/ or species intermittently and asymptomatically. What do we want to do?   That's why the research team hopes to do the following:Increase insight into pathogenesis of EEHV in both Asian and African elephants , which may lead to immunomodulatory intervention in acute cases and to improvedantiviral therapyAn EEHV vaccine and insight into cross-protection provided against different types and subtypesEEHV diagnostic serological assays, differentiating between types and subtypes as well as between natural infection and vaccination (DIVA)Lastly, protect zoo elephants against EEHV-HD and provide insight into the burden of infection/disease of EEHV in wild Asian and African elephants How you can help We need to develop fast and relaiable diagnostics, effective treatment options and, ultimately, a vaccin to fight EEHV-HD.In order to do this, your support makes all the difference. Please help us to find a vaccine against EEHV! 
Stop the no. 1 elephant killer!

H-PWR | Paardenwelzijn in orde bij interactie met veteranen met PTSS

08-05-2025 | 19:24

Paarden ervaren geen stress tijdens interacties met veteranen met therapieresistente PTSS. Onderzoekster Chantal Kapteijn heeft de resultaten van onderzoek dat ze samen met collega’s doet naar het gedrag van de paarden, hun hartslag en hartslagvariabiliteit gepubliceerd in het tijdschrift Animal Behaviour and Welfare Cases.

Het onderzoek maakt deel uit van het project Horsepower. In dit project doorlopen groepen veteranen met therapieresistente PTSS een traject van twaalf weken, waarbij ze onder begeleiding in contact worden gebracht met paarden. Onderzoekers van de faculteit Diergeneeskunde onderzoeken het effect van de interacties op de veteranen, maar ook hoe het welzijn van de paarden beïnvloed wordt. Voor de veteranen gebruiken ze vragenlijsten en meten ze fysiologische parameters. Voor de paarden gaat het om fysiologische parameters en bestuderen ze daarnaast het gedrag van de dieren.


“In de vrije interactie, waarbij de veteranen de paarden bijvoorbeeld aaien, zie je geen verschil in hartslagvariabiliteit als je het vergelijkt met een normale situatie”, aldus Kapteijn. “Ook zijn er geen grote verschillen over de weken heen. Alleen in de eerste week, was sprake van een afwijking, dus dat lijkt erop te wijzen dat de paarden zich de eerste week even aan de nieuwe situatie moeten aanpassen.”

In de gerichte interacties, waarbij de veteranen bijvoorbeeld op de paarden rijden, zijn er wel grote verschillen qua hartslag met zowel de baseline als de vrije interactie. “Dat is verklaarbaar omdat de paarden in die interacties veel meer fysieke activiteit vertonen. Je ziet dan ook dat de verschillen binnen de gerichte interactie tussen de weken heel groot zijn. De hartslag ligt hoger en hartslagvariabiliteit lager in de weken dat er gereden wordt of gelongeerd wordt.”

De gedragsmatige parameters zijn alleen gemeten tijdens de vrije interactie. “Deze veranderen niet over de weken heen. We zien dat de paarden het grootste deel van de tijd doorbrengen in aanwezigheid van de veteranen, positief sociaal contact van hen ontvangen en met hun oren naar voren staan. Dat zijn allemaal indicatoren dat de paarden het aaien niet vervelend vinden, ze kunnen immers ook weglopen bij de veteranen, want ze staan los in de cirkel.”

Komende tijd gaat Chantal en het team van Horsepower alle overige data analyseren, en de resultaten publiceren. Ondertussen worden fondsen geworven voor Horsepower 2.0, waarbij ook de familieleden van veteranen met therapieresistente PTSS onderdeel vormen van het traject.

Lees de casestudie over het welzijn van paarden hier. 

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