heartwater

Heartwater or Cowdriosis is a disease of cattle, sheep, goats and wild ruminants endemic to Sub-Sahara Africa, Madagascar, and portions of the Caribbean such as Antigua and Guadeloupe. Heartwater is caused by obligate intracellular rickettsial organisms that parasitize macrophages (a type of white blood cell). After initially replicating in macrophages, the organism will move to the vascular endothelium where it undergoes additional replication.