trench fever

noun

: a disease that is usually marked by fever and pain in muscles, bones, and joints and that is caused by a bacterium (Bartonella quintana synonym Rochalimaea quintana) transmitted by the human body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus)

Examples of trench fever in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The most recent study didn’t detect any traces of it or Bartonella quintana, trench fever. Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2025 These diseases are trench fever, epidemic typhus, and louse-borne relapsing fever.54 Summary Body lice are tiny insects that live in bedding and clothes and feed on human blood. Josephine Hessert, Verywell Health, 2 Dec. 2024 An estimated 380,000 to 520,000 British soldiers contracted trench fever during World War I. Isis Davis-Marks, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Dec. 2020 But whereas body lice can spread diseases, including epidemic typhus, trench fever and even the plague, head lice have never been blamed for any such outbreak. Karen Weintraub, Scientific American, 1 June 2017 Body lice, which feed on your blood and nothing else, spread many diseases, including typhus and trench fever. Discover Magazine, 7 July 2011

Word History

First Known Use

1915, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of trench fever was in 1915

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Cite this Entry

“Trench fever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trench%20fever. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Medical Definition

trench fever

noun
: a disease that is usually marked by fever and pain in muscles, bones, and joints and that is caused by a bacterium (Bartonella quintana synonym Rochalimaea quintana) transmitted by the human body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus)

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