title: Heartwater: an abridged historical account.
abstract: Heartwater was first recognised and recorded in South Africa as early as 1838. Since then the disease has been described from almost all the countries in Africa south of the Sahara, from certain islands around Africa and from a number of islands in the Caribbean. Most of the research on the disease, at least until fairly recently, was conducted in South Africa. Progress in research on the disease has been slow but a few important findings are highlighted in this paper.
authors.affiliation: Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute. jdbez@mweb.co.za
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bezuidenhout
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001096:Arachnid Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D002417:Cattle; D016995:Ehrlichia ruminantium / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006357:Heartwater Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000266:history* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000382:microbiology*; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000266:history / Q000662:veterinary