INDALI the baby elephant is showing symptoms of the disease that killed members of her family last year - but experts are confident that she will pull through.

Conservationists are continuing to treat two-year-old elephant calf Indali Hi Way after she tested positive for EEHV during a routine blood test last week.

Experts, who have worked tirelessly over the past five days, and continue to do so, making sure she receives the best possible care, have dubbed her a "little fighter".

The zoo's latest update says: "Indali is showing some symptoms but has responded well to the range of treatments provided to her so far. Calves can become seriously dehydrated very quickly following the onset of EEHV. However, keepers, vets and scientists say that Indali remains well hydrated with high levels of oxygen in her bloodstream – a positive sign.

"We remain hopeful that we can help pull Indali through."

Chester and District Standard:

Indali

The zoo’s baby elephants Nandita and Aayu tragically died in October after EEHV - but with a specialist team at Chester Zoo working round the clock to treat Indali, zoo bosses are hopeful she will respond to treatment.

EEHV is a virus which usually proves deadly, both in zoos and the wild, but no calf has ever had a better chance of surviving this virus than Indali does right now.

Elephant experts, conservationists, scientists and veterinary teams at the zoo are working tirelessly to provide Indali with the very latest treatments available, including new state-of-the-art blood plasma transfusions, anti-viral medications and immune boosting treatments similar to that received by humans during cancer care. The teams are monitoring the calf around the clock.

The zoo is leading global efforts to find a vaccine for the disease, and is backed by new technology and science, developed following the tragic losses of other calves at the zoo to the complex virus.