DanKoehl
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't be so quick to list Ms.Betts cause of death as due to herpes. Beside being 11 years old and outside of the most vulnerable age group, theres simply not enough evidence to list it as herpes.
You make a valid point @Hyak_II. Given Miss Bets age at the time of her passing and the few deaths caused by EEHV in African elephant calves residing in North America, it’s unlikely that her death was connected to EEHV. However, the reason I suspected EEHV as the potential cause of death was because Miss Bets was diagnosed with a strain of virus at a young age, and her rapid decline in health was similar to that caused by EEHV. Ultimately, the necropsy results will provide explanation as to Miss Bets sudden and unexpected passing. Also, has the Fresno Chaffee Zoo made public the cause of her death?
...Then further post mortem testing demonstrated that her initial EEHV results were a false negative and Miss Betts actually had a marked spike in EEHV numbers and virus replicating throughout her body and the diagnosis was made that EEHV was the major contributing agent to her sudden death.
Source: https://www.fresnochaffeezoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2019_AnnualReport.pdf