Publication Database

Assessing coagulation parameters in healthy Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) from European and Thai populations (2022)

Art

Zeitschriftenartikel / wissenschaftlicher Beitrag

Autoren

Jesus, Sónia A.

Schmidt, Anke

Fickel, Jörns

Doherr, Marcus G. (WE 16)

Boonprasert, Khajohnpat

Thitaram, Chatchote

Sariya, Ladawan

Ratanakron, Parntep

Hildebrandt, Thomas B. (WE 19)

Quelle

Animals

Bandzählung: 12

Heftzählung: 3

Seiten: Artikel 361

ISSN: 2076-2615

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/3/361

DOI: 10.3390/ani12030361

Pubmed: 35158684

Kontakt

Institut für Veterinär-Epidemiologie und Biometrie

Königsweg 67
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 56034
epi@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are considered endangered and their population is in continuous decline. Understanding their social interactions, health, and welfare status has been a topic of intense research in recent decades. Coagulation assessments have been underutilized in wildlife but can give valuable information on individual health. This study aims to increase the knowledge of the coagulation status in healthy Asian elephants from different backgrounds and age groups, using a fast point-of-care analyzer. This tool can be further used in either routine health check-ups performed by caretakers or in a clinical emergency, such as in cases of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus hemorrhagic disease outbreaks. We have also investigated the presence of genomic mutations in one coagulation factor—factor VII—where a disorder was previously reported in an Asian elephant. Hereby, we report new reference values for coagulation parameters, such as coagulation times and fibrinogen concentration of Asian elephants assessed in Thailand and in Europe, as well as several single point mutations found in the exons of Elephas maximus coagulation F7 gene. We found the point-of-care analyzer used in this study to be very practical and user friendly for a zoo and field environment and hope that this project will incentivize further coagulation studies in Asian elephants and in other wildlife species.