n :  a usu. mild rickettsial disease of ruminant animals (as sheep and cattle) esp. in Europe that is caused by a bacterium of the genus Ehrlichia (E. phagocytophilia syn. Rickettsia phagocytophilia) which is transmitted by a tick of the genus Ixodes, and that is marked by fever, listlessness, and anorexia .
 
 
 
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