'Forest department alerted about herpes in 2017'

BHUBANESWAR: The Wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO), a private body working for conservation of wildlife, has claimed that the forest department had been alerted in 2017 about the herpes virus strain present in the state's wildlife after five sub-adult elephants died of suspected herpes in different areas.
The WSO alleged that the forest department then didn't act on it and offered an array of treatments as the symptoms manifested. The elephants had died in Narasinghpur in Athgarh forest division, Nayagarh forest division and Kamakshyanagar east range in Dhenkanal district. The WSO had shot off a letter to then principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) giving details of the experts for consultation and check further spread.
The Nandankanan zoo's elephants have come under the virus threat. Out of the eight elephants, four have fallen prey to it. A wildlife wing has sought help from experts in Kerala and Assam. WSO secretary Biswajit Mohanty said symptoms were similar as manifested in Nandankanan elephants. "There was gland swelling with internal bleeding, lethargy, edema of the head, proboscis (trunk) and forelimbs and high temperature in all the elephants that died in April, 2017," Mohanty said.
Chief wildlife warden H S Upadhyay said there was no history of herpes virus attack in a zoo in the country. "Nandankanan is the first zoo in the country where elephants contracted herpes. The virus may have come from outside as the elephants were rescued ones. The experts from Assam will arrive here in a day or two," he said adding previous herpes strain in the wild cannot be ruled out.