trench fever

trench fever
a recurrent fever, often suffered by soldiers in trenches in World War I, caused by a rickettsia transmitted by the body louse.
[1910-15]

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      infectious disease characterized by sudden onset with fever; headache; sore muscles, bones, and joints; and outbreaks of skin lesions on the chest and back. It is transmitted from one person to another by a body louse harbouring the causative organism, the rickettsial bacterium Rochalimaea (formerly Rickettsia) quintana. There may be one period of fever, or the fever may recur several times at intervals of four to five days. Most persons recover within about two months; there may be relapses, however, and the disease becomes chronic in about 5 percent of the cases. Treatment with chlortetracycline brings permanent relief of the symptoms, but the patient continues to carry rickettsiae and remains infectious for lice. First recognized in 1915, trench fever was a major medical problem during World War I. It reappeared in epidemic form among German troops on the Eastern front during World War II. The control of body lice is the chief means of prevention.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • trench fever — n. [from its prevalence among soldiers in the trenches in WWI] an infectious disease caused by a rickettsia (Rochalimaea quintana) transmitted by body lice, characterized by a remittent fever, muscular pains, etc …   English World dictionary

  • Trench fever — A disease borne by body lice that was first recognized in the trenches of World War I, when it is estimated to have affected more than a million people in Russia and on the fronts in Europe. Trench fever was again a major problem in the military… …   Medical dictionary

  • Trench fever — Infobox Disease Name = PAGENAME Caption = DiseasesDB = 29814 ICD10 = ICD10|A|79|0|a|75 ICD9 = ICD9|083.1 ICDO = OMIM = MedlinePlus = eMedicineSubj = med eMedicineTopic = 2303 MeshID = D014205 Trench fever is a moderately serious disease… …   Wikipedia

  • trench fever — noun marked by pain in muscles and joints and transmitted by lice • Hypernyms: ↑rickettsial disease, ↑rickettsiosis * * * ˈtrench fever 7 [trench fever] noun …   Useful english dictionary

  • trench fever — trench′ fe ver n. pat a recurrent fever and pain in the muscles and joints caused by a rickettsia transmitted by the body louse • Etymology: 1915–20 …   From formal English to slang

  • trench fever — fever spread by body lice that was common in World War I soldier who fought in trenches …   English contemporary dictionary

  • trench fever — /trɛntʃ ˈfivə/ (say trench feevuh) noun a recurrent fever, often suffered by soldiers in trenches in World War I, caused by a rickettsia transmitted by lice …  

  • trench fever — noun Date: 1915 a disease that is usually marked by fever and pain in muscles, bones, and joints and that is caused by a bacterium (Bartonella quintana syn. Rochalimaea quintana) transmitted by the human body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus) …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • trench fever — noun an acute infectious disease, caused by the microorganism Rickettsia quintana and transmitted by the louse Pediculus humanus that affected very many soldiers during World War I …   Wiktionary

  • trench fever — noun a highly contagious rickettsial disease, transmitted by lice, that infested soldiers in the trenches in the First World War …   English new terms dictionary

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