typhus
noun
ty·phus ˈtī-fəs 
: 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
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web By then, the United States had already ratified the International Sanitary Convention for Aerial Navigation of 1933, which focused on preventing the spread plague, cholera, yellow fever, typhus and smallpox via air traffic. 
Jeffrey E. Harris, STAT, 24 Apr. 2022 But Frank, who died at 15 of typhus at Bergen-Belsen days after the death of her sister, Margot, has been betrayed in so many ways. Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2022 Sanitation officials argue that the more comprehensive cleanups are also driven by public health concerns, to ensure that encampments do not suffer from an outbreak of hepatitis, typhus or other illnesses. Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2021 Upon arrival in Morocco, Woodward found himself in the midst of a typhus epidemic. Steve Bowersox, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 31 Oct. 2021 The all-encompassing nature of epidemics was clear to the German physician Rudolf Virchow, who investigated a typhus outbreak in 1848. Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2021 Typhus: In the Aug. 4 California section, an article about an outbreak of typhus in Monrovia mischaracterized the disease as a virus. Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2021 The hope was that typhus, malnutrition and starvation would relieve the Nazis of the necessity of face-to-face murder. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2021 Both the First and the Second World Wars produced typhus epidemics. Jerome Groopman, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2021 See More
Jeffrey E. Harris, STAT, 24 Apr. 2022 But Frank, who died at 15 of typhus at Bergen-Belsen days after the death of her sister, Margot, has been betrayed in so many ways. Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2022 Sanitation officials argue that the more comprehensive cleanups are also driven by public health concerns, to ensure that encampments do not suffer from an outbreak of hepatitis, typhus or other illnesses. Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2021 Upon arrival in Morocco, Woodward found himself in the midst of a typhus epidemic. Steve Bowersox, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 31 Oct. 2021 The all-encompassing nature of epidemics was clear to the German physician Rudolf Virchow, who investigated a typhus outbreak in 1848. Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2021 Typhus: In the Aug. 4 California section, an article about an outbreak of typhus in Monrovia mischaracterized the disease as a virus. Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2021 The hope was that typhus, malnutrition and starvation would relieve the Nazis of the necessity of face-to-face murder. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2021 Both the First and the Second World Wars produced typhus epidemics. Jerome Groopman, The New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
New Latin, from Greek typhos fever; akin to Greek typhein to smoke — more at deaf
First Known Use
1785, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing typhus
Kids Definition
typhus
noun
ty·phus ˈtī-fəs
: a disease spread especially by body lice and in which there is high fever, delirium, severe headache, and a dark red rash
Medical Definition
typhus
noun
ty·phus ˈtī-fəs
: 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