Characterization of Cetacean Morbillivirus in Humpback Whales, Brazil.

Cetacean morbillivirus is an etiologic agent associated with strandings of live and dead cetacean species occurring sporadically or as epizootics worldwide. We report 2 cases of cetacean morbillivirus in humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Brazil and describe the anatomopathological, immunohistochemical, and molecular characterization findings in the specimens.

B-cell small lymphocytic lymphoma in a free-ranging South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis).

Lymphomas are malignant neoplasms of the hematopoietic system arising from lymphocytes with highly variable biologic behavior. B-cell small lymphocytic lymphoma (B-SLL) is a non-Hodgkin lymphoma infrequently described in domestic and wild animals. The present study describes a case of B-SLL in a free-ranging adult male Arctocephalus australis in Brazil. The main necropsy findings included poor body condition, generalized lymphadenomegaly, severe and diffuse splenomegaly, and multiple, white to yellow nodules in the kidneys and small intestine. Histologically, these organs were partially or totally effaced by neoplastic small lymphocytes arranged in sheets, with moderate anisocytosis and anisokaryosis and a low mitotic count. These cells diffusely immunolabeled for CD79α and CD20, and were negative for CD3. A diagnosis of multicentric B-SLL was established and to the authors' knowledge, it has not been previously described in this genus.

Omphalitis, urachocystitis and septicemia by Streptococcus dysgalactiae in a southern right whale calf Eubalaena australis, Brazil.

Southern right whales Eubalaena australis (SRW) use the southern coast of Brazil as a wintering and calving ground. Other than anthropogenic threats, there is limited knowledge on health and disease aspects for this species. We report the gross and microscopic findings and microbiological identification of streptococcal septicemia in a SRW calf. Main gross findings included fibrinosuppurative omphalitis and urachocystitis, suppurative cystitis, valvular endocarditis and myocarditis, embolic pneumonia, suppurative myositis and osteoarthritis, and lymphadenomegaly. Histological examination confirmed the above inflammatory processes and indicated disseminated Gram-positive coccoid septicemia. PCR analysis, based on the 16S rRNA gene from bacteria isolated on blood agar, identified Streptococcus dysgalactiae. Pathologic and microbiologic analysis indicated that ß-hemolytic S. dysgalactiae septicemia, presumably initiated as ascending omphalic infection, was responsible for stranding and death in this individual. These results further confirm pathogenicity of streptococci in cetaceans and add to the limited health and disease related pathology knowledge for this species.

Description of Amblyomma monteiroae n. sp. (Acari: Ixodidae), a parasite of the great horned owl (Strigiformes: Strigidae) in southern Brazil.

In 2020, adult hard ticks (males and females) were collected from great horned owls [Bubo virginianus (Gmelin, 1788)] in the coastal region in southern Brazil. The engorged females were allowed to oviposit in the laboratory and hatched larvae could be obtained. Analyses of the external morphology of the adult ticks revealed that they represent a new species, which was named Amblyomma monteiroae n. sp. Partial sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene and the nuclear second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) were generated from a male and a female. Their 16S rRNA haplotypes were identical to each other and closest (96% identity) to corresponding sequences of Amblyomma parvitarsum Neumann, 1901, and 90% identical to Amblyomma neumanni Ribaga, 1902. Their ITS2 haplotypes were 95.8 to 96.0 identical to the single ITS-2 partial sequence of A. parvitarsum available in GenBank. In the phylogenetic trees inferred by both 16S rRNA and ITS2 partial sequences, A. monteiroae n. sp. formed a clade with A. parvitarsum, with A. neumanni branching sister to this clade. Amblyomma monteiroae n. sp. is genetically and morphologically related to A. parvitarsum. Both tick species are unique in combining the following morphological characters: scutum extensively ornate; eyes rounded and bulging; coxa I with two moderate pointed spurs, the external longer than the internal; a single triangular short spur on coxae II-III; presence of two spines on the tibia of legs II-IV; hypostomal dentition 3/3, trochanters without spurs. However, the males of the two species can be separated by specific features in palps and festoons, whereas the females differ in specific features of the coxal spurs. The larva of A. monteiroae n. sp. can be morphologically distinguished from A. parvitarsum only by morphometry, with the former species being slightly smaller. Currently, A. monteiroae n. sp. is restricted to southern Brazil, and the only known host is B. virginianus (Strigiformes: Strigidae). The present study increases the Amblyomma Brazilian fauna to 34 species.

Mycobacterium pinnipedii in a stranded South American sea lion (Otaria byronia) in Brazil.

We report tuberculosis in a stranded South American sea lion (Otaria byronia) in Brazil caused by Mycobacterium pinnipedii, a member of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex.