snail fever

American  

noun

1. schistosomiasis.

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Etymology

Origin of snail fever

First recorded in 1945–50; so called because the parasites that cause the disease are carried by snails

Example Sentences

Schistosomiasis is sometimes called bilharzia or snail fever because the illness-causing larvae spend their nights tucked away in the shells of snails in freshwater lakes.

From New York Times • Mar. 1, 2018

For example, “no significant, measurable progress” has been made toward eliminating schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia and snail fever, according to the report.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2017

Schistosomiasis or snail fever, which can cause deadly blood loss, affects hundreds of thousands of people in Yemen, for example.

From Reuters • Feb. 2, 2010

Schistosomiasis, or snail fever, afflicts about 200 million people, chiefly in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

From Time Magazine Archive

The squishy little parasites are less than an inch long, but they cause a globe-girdling disease variously known as schistosomiasis, bilharziasis, or simply snail fever.

From Time Magazine Archive