East Coast fever

East Coast fever, also known as theileriosis, is a disease of cattle which occurs in Africa and is caused by the protozoan parasite Theileria parva. The primary vector which spreads T. parva between cattle is a tick, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus. East Coast fever is of major economic importance to livestock farmers in Africa, killing at least one million cattle each year. The disease occurs in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia. In 2003, East Coast fever was introduced to Comoros by cattle imported from Tanzania. It has been eradicated in South Africa.

A more acute form of East Coast fever called corridor disease occurs when buffalo-derived T. parva is transmitted to cattle. Another form, called January disease, only occurs over the winter months in Zimbabwe due to the tick lifecycle.

Native cattle are often resistant to the parasite, but not without symptoms. They are hosts to the parasite, but do not suffer as severely as foreign cattle.