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Glite Dictionary
Rift Valley fever

Rift Valley fever

1 6.8
An illness in Africa that infects animals and people and spreads by mosquitoes or contact with sick animals
  • noun
  • /rɪft ˈvæli ˈfiːvər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : fiebre del Valle del Rift
  • Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an emerging zoonosis posing a public health threat to humans in Africa.
  • Rift Valley fever virus
  • Rift Valley fever outbreak
  • Rift Valley fever cases

Examples

  • Evaluate the general epidemiology and clinical consequences of Rift Valley fever (RVF).

    Academic text (2013)

  • Table 3. Virologic results for mosquitoes tested during a Rift Valley fever outbreak, Mauritania, 2010.*

    Academic text (2014)

  • Figure 1: Location of study sites tested for patients with confirmed Rift Valley fever, Mauritania, 2010.

    Academic text (2014)

  • Table 2. Frequency distribution of human laboratory-confirmed Rift Valley fever cases by patient characteristic, South Africa, 2008-2011.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an emerging arboviral zoonosis, endemic to Africa.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an acute febrile viral disease that affects domestic ruminants and humans.

    Academic text (2014)

  • Farmers in Kenya report cases of Rift Valley fever in their livestock, which can also infect humans.

  • Health officials warn that Rift Valley fever can spread through bites from infected mosquitoes.

  • Recently, an outbreak of Rift Valley fever was observed in several regions of South Africa.

Surface Forms

Rift Valley fever singular
Rift Valley fevers plural

Morphology

rift + valley + fever

The compound is transparently built from the place-name element 'Rift Valley' plus 'fever', so a learner who knows the constituents will reasonably infer it denotes a kind of fever associated with a particular valley or region. However, the specific sense — a named viral zoonosis transmitted by mosquitoes and affecting animals and humans — is specialized factual information not recoverable from the parts, so full understanding requires extra background.

Etymology

Rift Valley fever is named after the Rift Valley in East Africa, where people first noticed the illness in animals. That's why the name points to a fever-causing infection that can 'spread' from animals to people, often by mosquitoes or by touching sick animals.