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Heartwater
"Heartwater is an acute tickborne disease of domestic and wild ruminants, including cattle, sheep, goats, deer, and antelope." Dr.Michael J. Burridge, College of Veterinary Medicine, Dept. of Pathobiology, International Program on Ticks and Tickborne Diseases, University of Florida.
The African tortoise tick is the vector/carrier of the bacteria which causes the lethal disease heartwater. A typical case of acute heartwater, as seen in susceptible ruminants, would exhibit clinical signs within 2-3 weeks of tick attachment. The first evidence of clinical disease would be a rapid rise in body temperature, loss of appetite and respiratory distress, followed by nervous signs such as circling motions, incoordination, recumbency, and paddling movements of the limbs. On post-mortem examination, the most constant feature is accumulation of fluid in various organs and cavities, resulting in pulmonary edema, hydropericardium, hydrothorax and ascites.
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