Proboscivirus | |
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Virus classification | |
(unranked): | Virus |
Realm: | Duplodnaviria |
Kingdom: | Heunggongvirae |
Phylum: | Peploviricota |
Class: | Herviviricetes |
Order: | Herpesvirales |
Family: | Orthoherpesviridae |
Subfamily: | Betaherpesvirinae |
Genus: | Proboscivirus |
Species | |
See text |
Proboscivirus is a genus of viruses in the order Herpesvirales, in the family Herpesviridae, in the subfamily Betaherpesvirinae. Elephants serve as natural hosts.[1] EEHV1 is apathogenic for African elephants but causes fatal haemorrhagic disease in Asian elephants.[2][3] The name "Proboscivirus" comes from the Greek word προβοσκίς or "proboscis" meaning "the elephant trunk," for which the virus accordingly uses as its means of contraction and transmission (secretions or openings of the trunk) to enter the elephant's body.