Epizootic Reticulum Cell Sarcoma in a Sequestered Colony of Japanese Quails

A sudden appearance of a malignant lymphoid tumor, which we characterized as reticulum cell sarcoma, was observed in a sequestered colony of Auburn strain 571 Japanese quails on the campus of the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. Tumor infiltrations were present in thymuses, spleens, livers, and, less commonly, in the caeca and bursa of Fabricius. In the advanced stages, other organs, such as kidneys, lungs, and gonads, were similarly involved. Electron microscopy revealed virion-like, double-walled, spherical bodies measuring approximately 1200 A in the nucleoplasm of tumor and hepatic cells. The significance of these bodies remains speculative.