Definition:
East Coast Fever is a disease that affects the cattle. Although native cattle are usually resistant to the parasite that causes East Coast Fever, they become hosts and suffer mildly from the disease. However, foreign cattle may develop worse symptoms.
Diagnosis:
Diagnosis is made through assessing smears and stains to check for parasites.
Treatment:
Treatment of East Coast Fever depends on the degree of infection. Some lead to death even when medications are administered, but vaccinations are available to prevent the disease from turning into an epidemic.
Symptoms and Signs:
The most common symptom of East Coast Fever is the enlarged lymph nodes near the tick bite. However, other symptoms like anemia, leucopenia, nasal discharge, diarrhea, corneal opacity, anorexia, dyspnea and pulmonary edema may also occur.
Causes:
East Coast Fever is caused by the protozoan parasite, Theileria parva – the only eukaryotic organism known to transform lymphocytes. The definitive host of T. parva is ticks.
