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Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF), commonly known as three-day sickness, caused by bovine ephemeral fever virus which is transmitted by mosquitoes and other biting insects.� The characteristic symptoms include stiffness, lameness, fever, nasal and ocular discharges, while in more severe cases the disease causes hypocalcemia which can generate cessation of rumination, muscle tremors, and constipation.� These symptoms generally last on average 2 to 4 days.� A study was conducted in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia using accelerometers to measure the drinking behavior of eight beef heifers for a six-week period.� Cattle were fitted with collars containing a triaxial accelerometer, with a sampling rate of 25 Hz.� Two cattle were diagnosed by staff and later by a veterinarian with BEF during the experiment, the first on September 12, 2016 and the second on October 1, 2016.� With the diagnosis, accelerometer data were analyzed to determine if the onset BEF could have been detected prior to the onset of clinical symptoms based on changes in activity patterns.� �Prior to the onset of BEF, normal grazing and resting activity patterns were readily identified from the sensor data.� On the day heifers were diagnosed, but before symptoms were observed by staff, heifer activity was reduced. Motion intensity during the period heifers were ill showed long periods of less movement and period episodes of intense movements.� These data suggest that heifers became less active when they were ill and corresponding stiffness, tremors and other symptoms may intensified periodic movements, such as walking.� Accelerometers recorded clear changes in heifer activity after becoming ill with BEF compared to their behavior several days earlier, which suggests that these sensors may be useful in remotely detecting the onset of cattle diseases, such as bovine ephemeral fever, before clinical signs can be observed on rangelands under typical management scenarios.