Localization of herpesvirus of turkeys in blood cells

The buffy coat pellets of blood clots from Broad Breasted Large White turkeys were processed for electron microscopy. No viruses were found in extracellular spaces nor in the heterophils, eosinophils, or basophils. Enveloped virions, measuring approximately 135 nm in diameter consisting of a core 30 to 35 nm in diameter and a capsid 20 to 30 nm thick were found in cytoplasmic vacuoles in lymphocytes. No developmental stages of virus maturation were observed in the nuclei or cytoplasm of any of the lymphocytes. Virus-like particles were observed in the nuclei and perinuclear zones of many erythrocytes and were approximately 135 nm in diameter but did not possess herpesvirus morphology.