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Volume 22, Number 2—February 2016
Dispatch

Mediterranean Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus) Threatened by Dolphin MorbilliVirus

Sandro MazzariolComments to Author , Cinzia Centelleghe, Giorgia Beffagna, Michele Povinelli, Giuliana Terracciano, Cristiano Cocumelli, Antonio Pintore, Daniele Denurra, Cristina Casalone, Alessandra Pautasso, Cristina Esmeralda Di Francesco, and Giovanni Di Guardo
Author affiliations: University of Padova, Padua, Italy (S. Mazzariol, C. Centelleghe, G. Beffagna, M. Povinelli); Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana, Rome, Italy (G. Terracciano, C. Cocumelli); Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna, Sassari, Italy (A. Pintore, D. Denurra); Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d’Aosta, Turin, Italy (C. Casalone, A. Pautasso); University of Teramo Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Teramo, Italy (C.E. Di Francesco, G. Di Guardo)

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Figure 1

Mayer hematoxylin counterstained tissue samples from a newborn fin whale stranded off the Mediterranean Sea, October 2013. A) Brain tissue showing positive immunostaining for morbillivirus. antigen in macrophages in the meningeal space. B) Fin whale thymus showing positive immunostaining for morbillivirus antigen in thymocytes and macrophages. For both samples, morbillivirus was detected by immunohistochemical analysis, using a rabbit hyperimmune anti–rinderpest virus serum (provided by Pirbrigh

Figure 1. Mayer hematoxylin counterstained tissue samples from a newborn fin whale stranded off the Mediterranean Sea, October 2013. A) Brain tissue showing positive immunostaining for morbillivirus. antigen in macrophages in the meningeal space. B) Fin whale thymus showing positive immunostaining for morbillivirus antigen in thymocytes and macrophages. For both samples, morbillivirus was detected by immunohistochemical analysis, using a rabbit hyperimmune anti–rinderpest virus serum (provided by Pirbright Institute, Pirbright, UK) (10). Original magnification ×40. Scale bars indicate 50 μm.

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