A brief information about Heartwater Disease

1. HEARTWATERAnother Potential Foreign Animal DiseasePrepared by : DebbraMarcelMonoclonal Antibody Section, Veterinary Research Institute (VRI)

2. •a.k.aCOWDRIOSIS,isnon-zoonoticdiseasebutoftenacute,fatal,infectiousandtick-borne(Amblyommaticks) rickettsialonruminants.
•causedbybacteriaEhrlichiaruminantium(Dumler,2001).
•widespreadinmostofAfrica,alsofoundonafewCaribbeanislandsandthreateningtheAmericanmainland. However,nocasereportedinAsiaregionsyet(OIE,2010).
•cancausehighmortality(upto90%)insusceptiblewildanddomesticruminants(cattle,sheep,goats,antelopeandbuffalo)esp.younganimalsandnon-nativebreeds
INTRODUCTION
Goatsandsheeparemoresusceptiblethancattle,andEuropeanbreedsaregenerallymoresusceptiblethan
indigenousAfricanbreeds.
Amblyommaticks
GoatSheepCattle

3. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTIONAccording to OIE 2010, no case for this disease ever reported in SouthestAsia (including Malaysia)

4. CLINICAL SIGNS
•causedbyanincreasedvascularpermeabilityandconsequentoedemaandhypovolaemia.
•symptomsincludeneurologicalsignssuchastremorsandheadpressing, respiratorysignssuchascoughingandnasaldischarge,andsystemicsignssuchasfeverandlossofappetite.
•highdeathratesinacutestagewithoutmanyclinicalmanifestationswhileinthehigherrecoveryrateinperacutestage.
•physicalexaminationmayrevealpetechiaeofthemucousmembranes,tachycardiaandmuffledheartsounds.
EXTRA INFO:
•canalsocausereproductiveandgastrointestinaldisease.
•recoveredanimalsbecomecarriersofinfection
•certainwildanimalscanplayaroleasreservoir
fever and loss of appetite
coughing and nasal discharge
oedemaand hypovolaemiaa

5. DIAGNOSIS(POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION)
•Lightyellowtransudatewithinthethorax,pericardiumandabdomen.
•Pulmonaryoedemaandmucosalcongestionareregularlyseenalongwithfrothyfluidintheairwaysandcutsurfacesofthelungs.
•Hydropericardium,hydrothoraxandlungoedemaarecommonlyassociatedpost-mortemsigns.
HistopathologicalidentificationofEhrlichiaruminantium:
bypreparingthehippocampusunderGiemsastainingorby
Histopathology(brain/kidney).
stainedEhrlichiaruminantium

6. DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES(based on OIE Terrestrial Manual)
1.Identificationoftheagent(IsolationofEhrlichiaruminantium)
a)usingin-vitroculture
b)usingin-vivoculture
2.Molecularmethods(detectionofEhrlichiaruminantium)
a)usingDNAprobes
b)usingPCRandnestedPCR
c)usingthereverselineblottechnique
d)usingreal-timePCR
3.Serologicaltests
a)IFATwithinfectedendothelialcelltissuecultureas
antigen(CIFAtest)
b)MAP1-Benzyme-linkedimmunosorbentassay
c)MAP1competitiveenzyme-linkedimmunosorbent
assayBacterial Isolation
FluorecenseTest
ELISA

7. TREATMENT AND CONTROL
TREATMENT
•Duringtheearlystages,animalsmaybetreatedwithsulfonamidesandtetracyclines.
•Inadvanceddisease,prognosisispoor.
CONTROL
•Tetracyclinescanalsobeusedprophylacticallywhenanimalsareintroducedintoanareaendemicwithcowdriosis.
•Alivebloodvaccineisavailableforprotectionofyoungstock, butanimalsmayrequiretreatmentforthediseasepost- vaccination.
•EctoparasiticidesdipssuchasRhipicephalus(Boophilus)andHyalommaspecieswillcontributetocontrolofvectorsofEhrlichiaruminantium.

8. REFERENCES
1.DumlerJS,BarbetAF,BekkerCP,etal.(2001)."ReorganizationofgenerainthefamiliesRickettsiaceaeandAnaplasmataceaeintheorderRickettsiales:unificationofsomespeciesofEhrlichiawithAnaplasma,CowdriawithEhrlichiaandEhrlichiawithNeorickettsia,descriptionsofsixnewspeciescombinationsanddesignationofEhrlichiaequiand'HGEagent'assubjectivesynonymsofEhrlichiaphagocytophila". Int.J.Syst.Evol.Microbiol.51(Pt6):2145–65.doi:10.1099/00207713-51-6-2145. PMID11760958.
2.http://www.ebi.ac.uk/2can/genomes/bacteria/Ehrlichia_ruminantium.html
3."Heartwater".AnimalandPlantHealthInspectionService.U.S.DepartmentofAgriculture.Retrieved2008-04-13.
4.CHAPTER2.1.6.HEARTWATER.OIETerrestrialManual(2008).
5.CFSPHTechnicalFactSheets.Heartwaterathttp://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/ DiseaseInfo/
6.Heartwater:AnotherPotentialForeignAnimalDisease.http://www.vetmed. ucdavis.edu/vetext/INF-DA/INF-DA_HEARTWATER.HTML
7.USDAAPHISfactsheet.Heartwater.http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/ pubs/fsheet_faq_notice/fs_ahheartw.html
Prepared by :
DebbraMarcel
Monoclonal Antibody Section,
Veterinary Research Institute (VRI)