A tick-borne bacterial disease (Ehrlichia ruminantium, historically classified as Cowdria ruminantium) of cattle, sheep and goats, transmitted by Amblyomma ticks, that causes high fever, nervous signs and fluid accumulation around the heart and lungs, with mortality that can exceed 80 percent in susceptible imported breeds during acute outbreaks. Endemic across sub-Saharan Africa and on several Caribbean islands, where its tick vector became established in the nineteenth century, it is regarded as one of the principal constraints on introducing higher-yielding cattle breeds into affected regions, since indigenous breeds have typically developed far greater natural resistance.
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Cattle, Livestock Heartwater (Ehrlichia ruminantium), transmitted by Amblyomma ticks, is a major tick-borne disease of cattle in Africa and the Caribbean.
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1. Heartwater (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationOpening definition paragraph
Heartwater is a tick-borne rickettsial disease. The name is derived from the fact that fluid can collect around the heart or in the lungs of infected animals. It is caused by Ehrlichia ruminantium, an intracellular Gram-negative coccal bacterium. The disease is spread by various Amblyomma ticks, and has a large economic impact on cattle production in affected areas. There are four documented manifestations of the disease.
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A tick-borne bacterial disease (Ehrlichia ruminantium, historically classified as Cowdria ruminantium) of cattle, sheep and goats, transmitted by Amblyomma ticks, that causes high fever, nervous signs and fluid accumulation around the heart and lungs, with mortality that can exceed 80 percent in susceptible imported breeds during acute outbreaks.
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