jail fever

British  

noun

1. a former name for typhus, once a common disease in jails

---

Example Sentences

Among the possibilities mentioned were jail fever, camp fever, eruptive military fever, and autumnal fever.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

Here ill luck still followed him, for he caught the jail fever.

From Literary Byways by Andrews, William

For the jail fever, see Lecky, vol. i, pp. 500-503.

From History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom by White, Andrew Dickson

Lord Bacon declared the jail fever "the most pernicious infection next to the plague."

From History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom by White, Andrew Dickson

A few days after our arrival I was laid low by a mild attack of jail fever, of which I had doubtless brought the seeds from St. Malo.

From Humphrey Bold A Story of the Times of Benbow by Strang, Herbert