Rift Valley fever

American  

[rift] / rɪft /

noun

Pathology.

1. a highly infectious viral disease of humans and animals, transmitted by mosquitoes and other insects, occurring in Africa and characterized in humans by headache, fever, eye discomfort, and muscle aches, progressing in some cases to encephalitis, blindness, or internal bleeding.

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Etymology

Origin of Rift Valley fever

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Many zoonoses — rabies, Lyme, anthrax, mad cow disease, SARS, Ebola, West Nile, Zika — loom large in public consciousness; others are less familiar: Q fever, orf, Rift Valley fever, Kyasanur Forest disease.

From New York Times • Jun. 17, 2020

The BRI was completed in 2008 and its scientists work on diseases such as African swine fever and Rift Valley fever - two infectious diseases on NBAF’s priority list.

From Washington Times • Apr. 9, 2019

To clarify, Rift Valley fever is caused by a virus, and malaria is caused by a parasite.

From Scientific American • Sep. 1, 2018

These include Lassa fever, Marburg fever, MERS, SARS, Nipah and Rift Valley fever, but not dengue or influenza.

From Economist • Sep. 1, 2016

Other mosquito species carry an array of pathogens that are responsible for diseases including encephalitis and Rift Valley fever.

From Washington Post • Feb. 19, 2016