Sad news this month from Thailand. In the afternoon of May 16, the chief mahout of camp in Mae Wang called our vet about a 3-year-old calf who got facial swelling. A mahout had noticed that the young male calf presented mild swelling on his jaw but was still acting normally; eating well, sleeping, urinating, and defecating. The CMU team immediately asked the mahout to send pictures and some videos for evaluation. The team rushed to see the calf for a physical evaluation and referred the calf to the TECC hospital for emergency treatment. The calf was depressed. He had mild to moderate facial swelling, especially at both jaws and the area above the eyes. His tongue presented the purple spots consistent with hemorrhaging. He also had a fever and a mild watery diarrhea with quite a bad smell. Many EEHV symptoms were present. At the same time the TECC team was working hard to find suitable blood donors to immediately start a blood transfusion when the calf arrived.
Calf was lethargic upon the team’s arrival
The veterinarians gave an antiviral drug and vitamin C to the elephant. The calf also received non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the fever from infection and the inflammatory process. At the hospital he got a platelet-rich plasma transfusion that night. The next day he got a second blood transfusion. The TECC team provided extreme treatment against EEHV. The EEHV test from CMU showed that the calf tested positive for type 1 and 4 co-infection. Unfortunately, he couldn't be saved. He passed away on day 3 of the intensive care.
Veterinarian draws blood to match for plasma donation
This case reminds us just how important our work is and how much fundraisers like Pizza for Pachyderms can help impact the care of elephants in Asia. This little calf’s treatment was funded in part through AES and donations from people like you. We are extremely grateful to the teams from the CMU mobile vet unit and thee TECC for their efforts to treat this calf and others affected by EEHV.
Thank you to the CMU Veterinary Team for their outstanding commitment to Thailand’s elephants! And thank YOU to all who help support their work through AES!