East Coast fever
A tick-borne cattle disease killing over a million animals yearly in Africa.
East Coast fever, also known as theileriosis, is a disease of cattle caused by the protozoan parasite Theileria parva. It occurs in Africa and is of major economic importance, killing at least one million cattle each year. The primary vector is the tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus.
- caused_by
- Theileria parva
- vector
- Rhipicephalus appendiculatus
- annual_mortality
- at least one million cattle
- geographic_range
- Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Comoros
- first_reported
- 1902 in southern Africa
- forms
- corridor disease, January disease
Lore & Background
East Coast fever was first reported in southern Africa, south of the Zambezi river, in 1902. It became known as East Coast fever after it was determined that the disease had originated in cattle imported from the East Coast of Africa. In 2003, it was introduced to Comoros by cattle imported from Tanzania, and it has been eradicated in South Africa. A more acute form called corridor disease occurs when buffalo-derived T. parva is transmitted to cattle, while January disease occurs during the summer rainy season (January to March) in Zimbabwe due to the tick lifecycle.
Reader's Guide
East Coast fever remains a major threat to livestock farmers in Africa, killing at least one million cattle annually. The disease is spread by ticks, and control relies heavily on acaricides and tick-resistant cattle breeds. Treatment options include buparvaquone, which has shown 90 to 98% recovery, and parvaquone, while a vaccine using cryopreserved sporozoites was approved in Kenya, Malawi, and Tanzania in 2010, though it is expensive and can cause disease. Native cattle often show resistance but still carry the parasite. The disease's economic impact and the difficulty of tick control in tropical regions make it a persistent challenge. Future research is informed by genomic and protein expression studies from 2005.
Did You Know?
- Mortality can be up to 100%, with death occurring around 18–30 days after initial tick attachment.
- A study using the medicinal plant Peganum harmala showed a lifesaving effect on infected cattle.
- The ultimate cause of death is pulmonary edema.
- Endemic cattle that survive infection become carriers of the parasite.
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