urban typhus
- noun
- /ˈɜrbən ˈtaɪfəs/
- Specialized
:
tifo urbano
- The doctor diagnosed him with urban typhus after confirming he had been bitten by a flea.
Examples
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Cases of urban typhus have been reported in crowded city neighborhoods with poor sanitation.
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Many people were hospitalized due to urban typhus last summer.
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Improved pest control measures helped reduce outbreaks of urban typhus in the twentieth century.
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The outbreak of urban typhus alarmed the health officials.
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In 2020, numerous infections of urban typhus were documented in areas with heavy flea infestations.
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Health campaigns have been launched to raise awareness about urban typhus and its symptoms, especially in slum areas.
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The symptoms of urban typhus include fever, muscle aches, and a characteristic rash.
Synonyms
A disease caused by bacteria spread by flea bites that causes fever and rash
An illness with fever and rash spread by fleas from rats or mice
A serious disease that causes fever and a rash when fleas spread bacteria to people
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines the adjective 'urban' (relating to city life) with the noun 'typhus' (a disease), so its meaning—typhus occurring in urban areas—is directly and compositionally derivable from the constituents. This adjectival + disease noun pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily understand the term.
Etymology
Urban typhus comes from the way the disease appeared in crowded city areas where fleas on rats bit people and passed tiny germs that caused fever and a rash. Urban means 'city' and typhus is an old word for a serious 'fever', so the name means a fever illness spread by fleas in cities.
