hemorrhagic fever

noun

|Updated on: 18 Jul 2018

Definition of hemorrhagic fever

: any of a diverse group of virus diseases (such as Lassa fever and Ebola) that are usually transmitted by arthropods or rodents and are characterized by a sudden onset, fever, aching, bleeding in the internal organs, petechiae, and shock

Recent Examples of hemorrhagic fever from the Web

Nigeria, which has been battling outbreaks of yellow fever, monkey pox and Lassa virus, which can cause a lethal hemorrhagic fever resembling Ebola, is one of the countries identified by PreventEpidemics as not ready.

— lena h. sun, chicagotribune.com, "How prepared is the world for next epidemic? Tool shows most countries are not.," 22 June 2018
Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo began administering an experimental Ebola vaccine, as the country battles to contain its ninth outbreak of the hemorrhagic fever.

— nicholas bariyo, WSJ, "Ebola Vaccination Begins in Democratic Republic of Congo," 21 May 2018
Before the outbreak was confirmed, local health officials reported 21 patients showing signs of hemorrhagic fever around the village of Ikoko Impenge, near the town of Bikoro.

— Fox News, "17 deaths reported in Congo as Ebola outbreak confirmed," 8 May 2018
The Ebola virus is a hemorrhagic fever that kills many of its victims — especially in low-resource countries like the DRC.

— julia belluz, Vox, "Good news: the Ebola outbreak in DRC is contained," 29 June 2018
Some researchers have suggested that the symptoms and rate of transmission described in historical accounts actually match anthrax, or possibly a hemorrhagic fever like Ebola or Lassa, better than Y. pestis.

— kiona n. smith, Ars Technica, "4,000-year-old genomes point to origins of bubonic plague," 12 June 2018
As of Monday Congo confirmed about 56 cases of hemorrhagic fever: 35 confirmed Ebola cases, 13 probable and eight suspected.

— Time, "Ebola Vaccinations Begin in Congo Town of Bikoro Where Outbreak Was First Declared," 28 May 2018
Piot and his colleagues called this new form of hemorrhagic fever Ebola virus disease, after the nearby Ebola River, a tributary of the Congo River.

— david mckenzie, CNN, "Fear and failure: How Ebola sparked a global health revolution," 26 May 2018
The death toll from hemorrhagic fever stands at 27, with three of them confirmed as Ebola.

— Time, "Congo Confirms Six New Ebola Virus Cases as Vaccination Efforts Get Underway," 23 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hemorrhagic fever.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of hemorrhagic fever

1948

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

hemorrhagic fever

noun

medical Definition of hemorrhagic fever

: any of a diverse group of virus diseases (as Korean hemorrhagic fever, Lassa fever, and Ebola) that are usually transmitted to humans by arthropods or rodents and are characterized by a sudden onset, fever, aching, bleeding in the internal organs (as of the gastrointestinal tract), petechiae, and shock