The elephant who beat ebola

AN elephant at Woburn Safari Park has defied the odds to fight back against an ebola-like virus which is usually fatal in 80 per cent of cases.

Tarli, a three-year-old Asian elephant, was the first to be born at the park.

But last year she was found to be suffering from an aggressive disease similar to ebola in humans, elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV).

Tarli, pictured above, was born in September 2014 and younger elephants are particularly vulnerable to the virus, for which there is no vaccine. Symptoms include a rapid heart rate and a painful accumulation of fluids around the head.

Tarli’s blood tests revealed an EEHV infection last November. Vets began treatment immediately. They gave her anti-viral and plasma transfusions to help her immune system fight the disease. Tarli has now been in the clear for six weeks.