The Lesions of Experimental Equine Morbillivirus Disease in Cats and Guinea Pigs

Abstract

Nine cats and four guinea pigs became affected with severe disease during experiments on the infectivity of equine morbillivirus, a newly recognized cause of respiratory disease in horses and humans. Four of the cats were challenged by subcutaneous inoculation, two by intranasal installation, two by oral dosage, and one by direct contact with a cat previously infected by subcutaneous inoculation. All four guinea pigs were inoculated subcutaneously. Gross pathology seen in all affected cats was characterized by hydrothorax and dark, heavy, wet, congested and/or hemorrhagic lungs with froth sometimes found in the respiratory passages. Pulmonary lymph nodes were enlarged and edematous. Six cats also had congested ceca with accompanying edema of mesenteric lymph nodes. Histologically, the lesions in the lungs of the cats were those of severe interstitial pneumonia characterized by serofibrinous alveolar edema, alveolar macrophages, intra-alveolar hemorrhage, thrombosis of small veins, alveolar wall necrosis, and syncytial cells. Clearly defined vascular lesions included intramural hemorrhage, edema, and necrosis and syncytial cells in the endothelium of pulmonary arteries and veins, 20-80 μm in diameter. Vascular lesions accompanied by parenchymal degeneration were also seen in the gastrointestinal and lymphoid organs. Syncytial cells were also visible in the lymphoid tissues of lymph nodes, spleen, and Peyer's patches. At necropsy, all guinea pigs were cyanosed and had congestion and edema in the gastrointestinal tract. Histologically, there was widespread vascular disease in arteries and veins, 20-80 μm in diameter, in many organs such as the lungs, kidneys, spleens, lymph nodes, gastrointestinal tracts, and skeletal and intercostal muscles, but there was no severe pulmonary edema as seen in horses and cats. Sections of tissues of the cats and guinea pigs, examined by indirect immunocytochemical stains, confirmed that the vascular damage was associated with the presence of equine morbillivirus antigen. The syncytia in small blood vessels in the lungs and other organs of both cats and guinea pigs were similar to those seen in horses, and their presence was interpreted as an important characteristic of the disease consistent with a reaction to a morbillivirus.