A 4.8-month-old female captive Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) died suddenly without preceding symptoms. Gross necropsy revealed numerous white circular and linear foci in the myocard. Differential diagnoses all turned out negative, except for encephalomyocarditis virus. Histopathology revealed mineralisation of myocardial cells and interstitial infiltration of lymphocytes, plasma cells and less neutrophils. PCR detected the encephalomyocarditis virus. Although encephalomyocarditis virus occurs in many mammals, this is the first published description of this virus in a Malayan tapir.
Key words: Encephalomyocarditis virus, Malayan tapir, Myocard, Tapirus indicus
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