✨📕 The NEWThe NEW Collegiate Dictionary, 12th Edition Over 5,000 words added — Buy Now! Collegiate DictionaryBuy Now!

African horse sickness

noun

Af·​ri·​can horse sickness ˌaf-ri-kən- How to pronounce African horse sickness (audio)
: an often fatal disease especially of horses, donkeys, and mules that is caused by an orbivirus (serotypes of Orbivirus alphaequi), is endemic in parts of central and southern Africa, is marked by fever, edematous swellings, and internal hemorrhage, and is transmitted chiefly by biting flies of the genus Culicoides

called also horsesickness

Browse Nearby Words

AFP
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“African horse sickness.” Merriam-Webster.com Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/African%20horse%20sickness. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!