“…GAV was detected in cells lining the sub-gastric artery and tubule lumen within the lymphoid organ. As haemolymph first enters the lymphoid organ via the subgastric artery and must pass through the thin layer of endothelial cells lining the lumen before entering the stromal matrix of the tubules (Oka 1969, Martin et al 1987, Anggraeni & Owens 2000, this may be indicative of an early stage of infection in the lymphoid organ. Tang et al (2002) also reported no loss of normal tubule structure in GAV-infected Litopenaeus vannamei which, like P. esculentus, is not a natural host of GAV.…”