Definition

1. Noun:
   • An infectious disease characterized by recurring episodes of high fever: "Relapsing fever" is an acute infectious disease transmitted to humans through the bite of infected lice or ticks. It is marked by sudden, recurring episodes of high fever, chills, headache, muscle pain, and nausea. These symptomatic episodes typically last several days, subside, and then recur after a period of days or weeks, a pattern that can continue for several months if untreated.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The doctor diagnosed the patient with relapsing fever after he presented with cyclical high fevers following a camping trip.
  • Relapsing fever is a serious illness that requires prompt antibiotic treatment.
  • Outbreaks of louse-borne relapsing fever are often associated with overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions.

Advanced Usage

• "Louse-borne relapsing fever": A specific form of the disease transmitted by the human body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus).

  • Louse-borne relapsing fever has been a major cause of epidemic fever in populations affected by war and famine.

• "Tick-borne relapsing fever": A form of the disease transmitted by soft ticks of the genus Ornithodoros.

  • Tick-borne relapsing fever is often contracted by sleeping in rustic cabins where rodents and their ticks are present.

Variants and Related Words

• Borrelia (n): The genus of spiral-shaped bacteria (spirochetes) that cause relapsing fever.

  • The causative agent of relapsing fever is a bacterium of the genus Borrelia.

• Spirochete (n): A type of corkscrew-shaped bacterium; the Borrelia species are spirochetes.

  • Under the microscope, the spirochetes responsible for relapsing fever are clearly visible.

Synonyms

• Recurrent fever: A descriptive synonym emphasizing the cyclical nature of the illness.
• Febris recurrens: The Latin medical term for the disease.

Related Phrases

• To contract relapsing fever: To become infected with the disease.

  • Travelers can contract relapsing fever from tick bites in certain regions.

• A bout of relapsing fever: Refers to one of the recurring symptomatic episodes.

  • After the first bout of relapsing fever subsided, he felt better for a week before the symptoms returned.

Noun

1. marked by recurring high fever and transmitted by the bite of infected lice or ticks; characterized by episodes of high fever and chills and headache and muscle pain and nausea that recur every week or ten days for several months