yellow fever

noun

: an acute infectious disease that is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America, is marked by symptoms (such as fever, muscle pain, and headache) of sudden onset which typically resolve within a few days but are sometimes followed by more serious symptoms (such as jaundice, high fever, and hemorrhage), and is caused by a flavivirus (species Yellow fever virus of the genus Flavivirus) transmitted especially by the yellow-fever mosquito

Examples of yellow fever in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Back in the 1800s, this area was a popular destination for wealthy New Orleanians who wanted to distance themselves from yellow fever outbreaks in the city. —Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 24 Apr. 2025

Originally hailing from Africa, the species can transmit dengue, as well as yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya. —Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2025

The engineering involved in the construction of the Panama Canal was challenging, but winning the battle against tropical diseases, mainly yellow fever and malaria, was essential for success. —Thomas Bostick, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025

Before yellow fever cases started climbing, there had been dramatic declines in the disease over the past decade, thanks to global vaccine stockpiles and the use of yellow fever vaccines in routine immunization programs. —Maryanne Murray Buechner, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1738, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for yellow fever

• unbeliever
• achiever
• believer
• deceiver
• perceiver
• receiver
• reliever
• retriever
• transceiver
• cleaver
• leaver
• weaver

Kids Definition

yellow fever

noun

: an infectious disease of warm regions (as sub-Saharan Africa) that is marked by fever, headache, muscle aches, yellowness of the skin, and sometimes death and that is caused by a virus transmitted by a mosquito

Medical Definition

yellow fever

noun

: an infectious disease of sudden onset that is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical South America and includes acute symptoms (as fever, muscle pain, headache, and nausea) which typically resolve within a few days but are sometimes followed by more serious symptoms (as jaundice, abdominal pain, high fever, hemorrhage, and kidney impairment) which may lead to death

Note: Yellow fever is caused by a single-stranded RNA virus of the genus Flavivirus (species Yellow fever virus) transmitted from monkey to human or human to human especially by the yellow-fever mosquito.

Few Americans realize that yellow fever was not always a disease of the faraway tropics. In 1878, an outbreak of yellow fever—the virus carried to the United States in mosquitoes from Africa—killed 20,000 people in the Mississippi Valley.

—Mary Roach, The New York Times Book Review

Although mass vaccination campaigns in Africa between the 1940s and 1960s led to the near disappearance of yellow fever, inadequately immunized populations and urbanization set the stage for the disease to reemerge. By the 1990s, there were an estimated 200 000 annual cases, with 30 000 deaths.

—Clem Spalding, The Journal of the American Medical Association

called also yellow jack