Ehrlichia ruminantium str. Gardel

Ehrlichia ruminantium is the causative agent of the heartwater disease that affects domestic and wild ruminants. The bacterium is transmitted by ticks of the genus Amblyomma. The disease is present throughout subsaharan Africa and on several Caribbean islands where it represents a major constraint to livestock production. It threatens to invade the Americas. Heartwater is characterized by fever, nervous signs, hydropericardium, hydrothorax, ascites, edema of the lungs, and high mortality. Its name comes from hydropericardium (an excessive amount of fluid within the sac surrounding the heart), which is commonly observed with this disease.(From http://www.expasy.org/sprot/hamap/EHRRG.html) (BacMap)