typhus
noun
ty·phus
| \ ˈtī-fəs
\
\
Definition of typhus
: any of various bacterial diseases caused by rickettsias: such as
a
: a severe human febrile disease that is caused by one (Rickettsia prowazekii) transmitted especially by body lice and is marked by high fever, stupor alternating with delirium, intense headache, and a dark red rash
b
: murine typhus
c
: scrub typhus
Examples of typhus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Other monarchs used the tactic for good reason—in 1608, for example, James IV issued a prorogation in response to a typhus epidemic in London. — Erin Blakemore, National Geographic, "The dramatic history of prorogation in British parliament," 29 Aug. 2019 People commonly contract this type of typhus after spending significant time outside or coming into contact with wild animals like opossums, rats and cats. — Lauren Caruba, ExpressNews.com, "Rash, fever, fatigue: San Antonio veterinarian calls attention to flea-borne typhus," 10 Aug. 2019 Some can be downright dangerous, transmitting viruses (yellow fever, encephalitis, dengue fever, West Nile disease), bacteria (Lyme disease, typhus) or parasites (malaria, sleeping sickness). — Washington Post, "Some common garden plants might help keep bugs away," 6 Aug. 2019 That same month, health officials warned the public of a typhus outbreak in downtown Los Angeles. — Bill Quirk, The Mercury News, "Opinion: California faces rising danger of mosquito-borne diseases," 24 July 2019 Rats have been in the news a lot lately, with infestations reported at Los Angeles City Hall and an outbreak of typhus, which can be transmitted to humans by fleas that live on rats. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: The legislative fight behind rat infestation concerns in California," 19 July 2019 One city employee was diagnosed with typhus, a disease that can be spread by rodents. — Mark Puente, latimes.com, "Following rat infestation, LAPD deploys robot to sanitize Central Division station," 28 June 2019 From Los Angeles to Kentucky, across the USA, experts said, growing homeless populations are increasingly susceptible to outbreaks of contagious diseases, including typhus, Hepatitis A and Shigella. — Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY, "As homeless are suffering, risk of hepatitis, typhus and other diseases is growing," 18 June 2019 Fever, headaches and sometimes rash are common symptoms of epidemic typhus fever, which has the potential to spread rapidly among people living in close quarters, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — Susan Scutti, CNN, "'Crowding diseases' threaten migrant children held in US border protection facilities, expert says," 24 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'typhus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for typhus
typhus
noun
English Language Learners Definition of typhus
medical
: a serious disease that is carried by small insects that live on the bodies of people and animals and that causes high fever, headache, and a dark red rash
See the full definition for typhus in the English Language Learners Dictionary
typhus
noun
ty·phus
| \ ˈtī-fəs
\
\
Kids Definition of typhus
: a disease spread especially by body lice and in which there is high fever, delirium, severe headache, and a dark red rash
typhus
noun
ty·phus
| \ ˈtī-fəs
\
\
Medical Definition of typhus
: any of various bacterial diseases caused by rickettsial bacteria: as
a
: a severe human febrile disease that is caused by one (Rickettsia prowazekii) transmitted especially by body lice and is marked by high fever, stupor alternating with delirium, intense headache, and a dark red rash
— called also louse-borne typhus
b
: murine typhus
c
: scrub typhus
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