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Since 1993, sudden and massive death has occurred among penaeid shrimp, Penaeus orientalis cultured in Korea. We investigated the pathological characterizations on the spontaneously and experimentally infected penaeid shrimp. The major gross findings of the spontaneous cases were 2-6㎜ sized-white spots on the inside of the carapace and reddish discolorization. Histopathologically, massive necrosis of lymphoid organ, degeneration and necrosis of epithelia of epidermis and foregut were observed in both spontaneous and experimental cases. Amphophilic to basophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies were readly observed epithelia of epidermis, foregut and gills. Electron microscopy revealed enveloped, non-occuluded ellipsoid to rod shaped virus particles, within the nucleus, in the lymphoid organs and interstitial cells of hepatopancreas of both spontaneously and experimentally infected shrimps. The size of the virion was 375x167nm, and the nucleocapsid was 290×75㎚. The causative agent causing massive death in penaeid shrimps in Korea resembles baculovirus associated with white spot syndrome (WSBV) occurred in Taiwan in virus morphology and gross and histological changes of the shrimps.
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