Isolation and characterisation of foot-and-mouth disease virus from a captive Indian elephant (Elephas maximus)

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease of economic importance affecting cloven footed animals as well as more than 70 wild species including elephant. A natural case of FMD in a captive Indian elephant (Elephas maximus) was recorded in the year 2013. The FMD virus (FMDV) was isolated from the clinical sample in BHK-21 cell culture and found to be serotype O. Genetic analysis revealed that the grouping of the isolate from the affected elephant was within Ind2001 lineage. Further the isolate was found to be in close genetic relationships with contemporary isolates sampled from domestic animals in nearby areas. Herewith we provide the direct evidence for virus transmission from the infected domestic animal to captive elephant during the height of FMD outbreak.