yellow fever

noun

Definition of yellow fever

: an acute infectious disease that is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America, is marked by symptoms (such as fever, muscle pain, and headache) of sudden onset which typically resolve within a few days but are sometimes followed by more serious symptoms (such as jaundice, high fever, and hemorrhage), and is caused by a flavivirus (species Yellow fever virus of the genus Flavivirus) transmitted especially by the yellow-fever mosquito

Examples of yellow fever in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Someone still dies from malaria every 30 seconds worldwide, and there are plenty of other diseases to worry about: Zika, dengue fever, yellow fever and more. — Katie Wudel, Los Angeles Times, "Review: The mosquito isn’t just annoying — Timothy C. Winegard says we’re at war," 9 Aug. 2019 Get our daily newsletter Zika is a viral infection carried from person to person by Aedes aegypti, which also transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. — The Economist, "Armed with smartphones, Colombians are taking on the local mozzies," 4 July 2019 Other infections including yellow fever, dengue fever, Chikungunya, and malaria are spread by mosquitos, though usually only outside the continental US. — Maggie O'neill, Health.com, "How to Get Rid of Mosquito Bites, According to an Expert," 21 June 2019 Colonists, sickened by yellow fever and strains of malaria for which their bodies were not prepared, began to die at the rate of a dozen a day. — Brooke Jarvis, The New Yorker, "How Mosquitoes Changed Everything," 5 Aug. 2018 Every ship heading upriver to the city was required to stop for inspection, and any passenger showing signs of yellow fever, smallpox, cholera or typhus was ferried over to the Lazaretto to recover — or die. — Inga Saffron, https://www.inquirer.com, "This building on the Delaware River saved immigrant lives for 95 years. Now it’s been rescued by Tinicum Twp. | Inga Saffron," 4 June 2019 Mutombo, who turns 53 on Tuesday, previously did public service announcements focused on polio and yellow fever. — Mike Stobbe, The Denver Post, "Dikembe Mutombo records Ebola messages for U.S. officials," 24 June 2019 Ones carried by mosquitoes, like dengue, zika, and yellow fever, are expanding their ranges northward as the planet heats up. — Zoë Schlanger, Quartz, "Climate change is threatening the microscopic creatures our lives depend on," 20 June 2019 The insects have been responsible for countless deaths by spreading illnesses such as malaria and yellow fever. — Jim Kiest, ExpressNews.com, "12 new books for your summer reading list," 5 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'yellow fever.' 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 yellow fever

yellow fever

noun

English Language Learners Definition of yellow fever

medical : a serious disease that causes fever and often yellowing of the skin and that is passed from one person to another especially by the bite of mosquitoes

See the full definition for yellow fever in the English Language Learners Dictionary

yellow fever

noun

Kids Definition of yellow fever

: a disease carried by mosquitoes in parts of Africa and South America

yellow fever

noun

Medical Definition of yellow fever

: an infectious disease of sudden onset that is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America and includes acute symptoms (as fever, muscle pain, headache, and nausea) which typically resolve within a few days but are sometimes followed by more serious symptoms (as jaundice, abdominal pain, high fever, hemorrhage, and kidney impairment) which may lead to death

Note: Yellow fever is caused by a single-stranded RNA virus of the genus Flavivirus (species Yellow fever virus) transmitted from monkey to human or human to human especially by the yellow-fever mosquito.

Few Americans realize that yellow fever was not always a disease of the faraway tropics. In 1878, an outbreak of yellow fever—the virus carried to the United States in mosquitoes from Africa—killed 20,000 people in the Mississippi Valley.— Mary Roach, The New York Times Book Review, 5 Nov. 2006 Although mass vaccination campaigns in Africa between the 1940s and 1960s led to the near disappearance of yellow fever, inadequately immunized populations and urbanization set the stage for the disease to reemerge. By the 1990s, there were an estimated 200 000 annual cases, with 30 000 deaths.— Clem Spalding, The Journal of the American Medical Association, 20 June 2007

— called also yellow jack

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yellow fever

Definition of yellow fever

Examples of yellow fever in a Sentence

First Known Use of yellow fever

English Language Learners Definition of yellow fever

Kids Definition of yellow fever

Medical Definition of yellow fever

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