snail fever

noun

: schistosomiasis

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

It was written in 1958 to celebrate the country’s victory over snail fever, a disease that blighted the lives of many millions of people in China (and still afflicts thousands). —The Economist, 11 June 2020

Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever and bilharzia, is a parasitic worm infection that slowly destroys the kidneys and liver. —The Economist, 23 June 2018

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. —Heather Murphy, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2018

Word History

Etymology

from the snails which serve as intermediate hosts to the schistosomes causing the disease

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

snail fever

noun

: schistosomiasis