[6] Exodus 9:3: "Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain."

see Psalms 91:3 KJV The word in Hebrew is דֶּבֶר "dever" (Strong's #01698), derived from the primitive root "dabar" in the sense of "to destroy."

[7] This usage inspired the ATV television play, Murrain, written by Manxman Nigel Kneale, which was broadcast on 27 July 1975 as part of the channel's Against the Crowd drama strand.

In those years, acts of the Parliament of Great Britain were passed to "more effectually to prevent the spreading of distemper which now rages amongst the horned cattle in this kingdom".

[8] For at least a dozen years, 1745-1757, a murrain made such tragic inroads upon the cattle of England that the virtual extinction of entire herds was frequently recorded.