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Volume 29, Number 1—January 2023
Research Letter

Short-Finned Pilot Whale Strandings Associated with Pilot Whale Morbillivirus, Brazil

Samira Costa-SilvaComments to Author , Carlos Sacristán, Rodrigo M. Soares, Vitor L. Carvalho, Pedro V. Castilho, Marta J. Cremer, Ana Carolina Ewbank, Arícia Duarte-Benvenuto, Thalita Faita, Pedro E. Navas-Suárez, Jenyffer V. Vieira, Letícia G. Pereira, Carolina F. Alves, Gabriela C. Souza, Giulia G. Lemos, Natália Silvestre-Perez, José L. Catão-Dias, and Lara B. Keid
Author affiliations: Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (S. Costa-Silva, C. Sacristán, R.M. Soares, A.C. Ewbank, A. Duarte-Benvenuto, T. Faita, P.E. Navas-Suárez, N. Sivestre-Perez, J. Catão-Dias); Centro de Investigación en Sanidad Animal (CISA-INIA), CSIC, Madrid, Spain (C. Sacristán); Associação de Pesquisa e Preservação de Ecossistemas Aquáticos, Caucáia, Brazil (V.L. Carvalho, L.G. Pereira); Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Laguna, Brazil (P.V. Castilho, C.F. Alves, G.C. Souza); Universidade da Região de Joinville, Sâo Francisco do Sul, Brazil (M.J. Cremer, J.V. Vieira, G.G. Lemos); Universidade de São Paulo, Pirassununga, Brazil (L.B. Keid)

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Table

Characteristics of PWMV-positive Globicephala pilot whales found in Brazil and other global locations*

Reference Stranding date Location Body length, m Age class/ sex Gross pathology findings Microscopic findings PCR testing
Taubenberger et al. (8) NA Delaware and New Jersey, USA NA NI/F Cachexia, dark red and congested lungs, parasites in stomach Type 2 pneumocyte hyperplasia syncytial cells and some bronchiolar epithelial cells contained eosinophilic intracytoplasmic and intranuclear inclusion bodies Brain, lung
Bellière et al. (4) 1996 Jul 28 Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain NA Ju/M Purulent pneumonia Severe, diffuse, nonpurulent encephalomyelitis Brain, urinary bladder
Sierra et al. (5) 2014 Jan Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain 2.02 Ju/F Suppurative rhinitis, with clogged nasal passages by the accumulation of large quantity of purulent material, otitis media, sacculitis, and laryngitis. Severe diffuse epithelial hyperplasia and hyperkeratosis was observed along the upper respiratory tract and keratinized stomach Dermatitis, bronchointerstitial pneumonia, laryngitis, laryngeal tonsillitis, hyperkeratotic gastritis, lymphoid depletion, Lung, larynx, pulmonary lymph node, laryngeal tonsil, spleen, intestine
Sierra et al. (5) 2015 May Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain 1.68 Calf/M Severe proliferative dermatitis and cheilitis, and severe, suppurative, laryngeal tonsillitis Dermatitis, cheilitis, suppurative laryngeal tonsillitis, bronchointerstitial pneumonia, nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis with neuronal and glial cell degeneration and necrosis, microgliosis and syncytial cells Brain, laryngeal tonsil, lung, pulmonary lymph node, intestine
This study, case 1 2020 Jul 13 Beberibe, Ceará state, Brazil 2.83 Ju/F Cachexia, suppurative sinusitis, meningeal thickening, parasites in pterygoids sinus and pneumonia Light multifocal Meningitis nonsuppurative, diffuse moderate neuronal and glial cell degeneration, cerebral edema, multifocal light bronchopneumonia and
multiorgan passive congestion		 Cerebrum, cerebellum, spinal cord, lung, heart, spleen, liver, pulmonary lymph node, mesenteric lymph node, pre-scapular lymph node, skin, kidney
This study, case 3 2020 Oct 4 Laguna, Santa Catarina state, Brazil 2.89 Ju/M Poor body condition, dermatitis, and focal jaw fracture Segmental hyaline skeletal myodegeneration and myonecrosis multifocal, light, acute tubular degeneration, adrenal gland with focal cortical hyperplasia, nonsuppurative colitis with moderated focal lymphoid hyperplasia and
multiorgan congestion, astrocytosis and glial cell degeneration		 Cerebrum, cerebellum, spinal cord, liquor, pre-scapular lymph node, tongue, trachea, lung, heart, spleen, liver, stomach, pancreas, lymph node mediastinal, lymph node mesentery, adrenal gland, kidney, gall bladder, skin
This study, case 4 2020 Oct 9 São Francisco do Sul, Santa Catarina state, Brazil 2.58 Ju/M Poor body condition, tracheal edema and pneumonia Multifocal light bronchointerstitial pneumonia with hyperplasia of pneumocytes type II, light diffuse nonsuppurative colitis, light diffuse lymphoid hyperplasia in thymus and spleen, light diffuse enteritis and colitis with moderated diffuse lymphoid hyperplasia and multiorgan congestion Brain, heart, kidney lung, thymus, liver, pulmonary lymph node, muscles

*Bold text indicates PWMV-positive samples. Ju, juvenile; NA, not available; NI, not identified; PWMV, pilot whale morbillivirus.

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References
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