Volume 30, Number 6—June 2024
Research Letter
Characterization of Cetacean Morbillivirus in Humpback Whales, Brazil
Figure

Figure. Microscopic findings of cetacean morbillivirus infection in 2 humpback whales in southern Brazil, 2022 (Megaptera novaeangliae). A) Cerebral cortex from whale MN2,. Note the pronounced perivascular cuffs composed of lymphocytes and plasma cells, moderate gliosis, and discreet vacuolization of the white matter. Hematoxylin and eosin stain; original magnification ×200. B) Cerebral cortex from whale. Eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion body in a neuronal cell (arrow). Hematoxylin and eosin stain; original magnification ×400. C) Cerebral cortex from whale MN2. Neurons and astrocytes show severe, multifocal, cytoplasmic immunostaining with a marked perivascular lymphoplasmacytic cuff. Immunohistochemistry anti-canine distemper virus, morbillivirus; original magnification ×100. D) Cerebellum from MN2. Purkinje cells exhibit pronounced, multifocal, cytoplasmic immunostaining. Inset: Intense and granular immunostaining is observed in the cell body, in the dendrites of Purkinje cells, and occasionally in granule cells. Immunohistochemistry anti-canine distemper virus, morbillivirus; original magnification ×400.