Diagnosis
On post-mortem examination, a light yellow transudate that coagulates on exposure to air is often found within the thorax, pericardium and abdomen. Most fatal cases will have the hydropericardium that gives the disease its common name. Pulmonary oedema and mucosal congestion are regularly seen along with frothy fluid in the airways and cut surfaces of the lungs.
To definitively diagnose the disease, C. ruminantium must be demonstrated either in preparations of the hippocampus under Giemsa staining or by histopathology of brain or kidney.
Read more about this topic: Ehrlichia Ruminantium