Definition

Noun: * An acute infectious viral disease of cattle (usually fatal); characterized by fever and diarrhea and inflammation of mucous membranes: Rinderpest is a highly contagious and historically devastating viral illness affecting cattle and other cloven-hoofed animals. Its symptoms typically include high fever, oral erosions, diarrhea, and severe inflammation of the digestive tract lining.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The global eradication of rinderpest in 2011 was a major achievement for veterinary science.
  • Historical records describe famines caused by outbreaks of rinderpest that wiped out cattle herds.
  • The virus causing rinderpest does not infect humans.

Advanced Usage

• "To stamp out rinderpest": This phrase refers to the concerted international effort to completely eliminate the disease through vaccination and surveillance programs.
  • International cooperation was essential to stamp out rinderpest.

Variants and Related Words

• Cattle plague: This is a historical synonym for rinderpest, directly describing its catastrophic impact on livestock.
• Peste bovine: The French term for the disease.

Synonyms

• Cattle plague

Notes on Meaning

This word has a single, specific veterinary medical meaning. It refers exclusively to the disease caused by the Rinderpest virus, which is now declared eradicated in the wild. The term is primarily used in historical, agricultural, and veterinary contexts.

Noun

1. an acute infectious viral disease of cattle (usually fatal); characterized by fever and diarrhea and inflammation of mucous membranes