trench fever

American  

noun

Pathology.

1. a recurrent fever, often suffered by soldiers in trenches in World War I, caused by a rickettsia transmitted by the body louse.

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trench fever British  

noun

1. an acute infectious disease characterized by fever and muscular aches and pains, caused by the microorganism Rickettsia quintana and transmitted by the bite of a body louse

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Etymology

Origin of trench fever

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Clark and his colleagues found that when they infected both kinds of lice with the bacterium that causes trench fever, the head lice fought off the infection far more aggressively than the body lice did.

From Scientific American • Jun. 14, 2017

Tolkien biographer John Garth told the BBC that the author conceived the story while recovering from trench fever contracted while serving in World War I.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2017

By 1918, when he nearly succumbed to typhuslike trench fever, he “had seen more active duty in the war than any other British writer,” spending a total of 117 weeks at the front.

From Washington Post • Apr. 11, 2017

In 1917, recuperating from trench fever, Tolkien composed a series of tales involving “gnomes,” dwarves and orcs engaged in a great struggle for his imaginary realm.

From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2016

Lice carried an infectious disease called trench fever, characterized by chills and high fever, which put thousands of men out of action.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman