Seroepidemiology of Asian Elephant

Eighty eight serum samples of apparently healthy Asian elephants from northeastern India were sero-surveyed for HS, FMD, brucellosis, TB and bluetongue. The test used for serosurveillance were Indirect haemagglutination test for HS and TB, Liquid Phase blocking ELISA for FMD , Rose Bengal Plate agglutination test for brucellosis and Agar Gel Immunodiffusion test for bluetongue. The overall seroprevalence recorded were 79.54 percent for HS, 29.54 per cent for TB and 11.36 per cent for FMD. No seropositivity against brucellosis and bluetongue was found. In FMD, multiple seropositivity was found against serotypes O, A and Asia 1. Seven animals were vaccinated against HS and FMD and tested for post vaccinal seroconversion on 30 and 90 days post vaccination. The doses of vaccines were the one which are usually used to vaccinate elephants in the region and are similar to that of cattle. The animals responded to the vaccines to some extent but the response were not similar within the animals and overall response was below the protective limits. It was concluded that standardization of vaccine and vaccination schedule are required to invoke protective immune responses in elephants.