Arteriosclerosis associated with a natural Marek's disease infection in a Japanese bantam (Gallus gallus)

A severe case of arteriosclerosis was observed in a female Japanese bantam (Gallus gallus) associated with Marek's disease (MD) infection. The hen, showing clinical, macroscopic and microscopic evidence of MD infection, harbored arteriosclerosis in the aorta and large arteries characterized by an extremely thickened intima and marked luminal occlusion. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunostain-ing showed many labeled nuclei in the thickened intima, and less frequent positivity in the media. This is the first report on avian arteriosclerosis in natural MD infection.