relapsing fever
noun
: a variable acute epidemic disease that is marked by recurring high fever usually lasting three to seven days and is caused by a spirochete (genus Borrelia) transmitted by the bites of lice and ticks
Examples of relapsing fever in a Sentence
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Instead, the soldiers carried bacteria that cause enteric fever and relapsing fever, two diseases that may have hastened the army’s downfall.
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Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
The researchers found the pathogens — Salmonella enterica and Borrelia recurrentis, bacteria that cause paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever, respectively — by analyzing teeth from the fallen soldiers who were found in a mass grave uncovered in 2001 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
Both of them were bacteria: one that caused paratyphoid fever and the other relapsing fever, a pathogen transmitted by body lice that dated back to the Iron Age.
—Ari Daniel, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
With the help of modern medicine, typhoid and relapsing fever both have very high survival rates.
—Daniel Lingenhöhl, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2025
Ticks still spread the majority of relapsing fever bacteria that infect humans.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 22 May 2025
William and his assistants were nonetheless able to build solid pillars of data, mass death broken down into discrete numerals to represent sexes, ages, locations, seasons, years, and causes of mortality, which included starvation, scurvy, dysentery, cholera, typhus, and relapsing fever.
—Fintan O'Toole, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Tick bites can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tick-borne relapsing fever.
—Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 18 June 2024
This wasn’t a total shock, as B. lonestari is a close relative of B. miyamotoi, which is known to cause tickborne relapsing fever.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2023
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Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
The researchers found the pathogens — Salmonella enterica and Borrelia recurrentis, bacteria that cause paratyphoid fever and relapsing fever, respectively — by analyzing teeth from the fallen soldiers who were found in a mass grave uncovered in 2001 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2025
Both of them were bacteria: one that caused paratyphoid fever and the other relapsing fever, a pathogen transmitted by body lice that dated back to the Iron Age.
—Ari Daniel, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
With the help of modern medicine, typhoid and relapsing fever both have very high survival rates.
—Daniel Lingenhöhl, Scientific American, 10 Aug. 2025
Ticks still spread the majority of relapsing fever bacteria that infect humans.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 22 May 2025
William and his assistants were nonetheless able to build solid pillars of data, mass death broken down into discrete numerals to represent sexes, ages, locations, seasons, years, and causes of mortality, which included starvation, scurvy, dysentery, cholera, typhus, and relapsing fever.
—Fintan O'Toole, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Tick bites can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tick-borne relapsing fever.
—Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 18 June 2024
This wasn’t a total shock, as B. lonestari is a close relative of B. miyamotoi, which is known to cause tickborne relapsing fever.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Mar. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Relapsing fever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/relapsing%20fever. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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