- Fever
- Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.). Fever is part of the body’s own disease-fighting arsenal: rising body temperatures apparently are capable of killing off many disease- producing organisms. For that reason, low fevers should normally go untreated, although you may need to see your doctor to be sure if the fever is accompanied by any other troubling symptoms. As fevers range to 104 degrees F and above, however, there can be unwanted consequences, particularly for children. These can include delirium and convulsions. A fever of this sort demands immediate home treatment and then medical attention. Home treatment possibilities include the use of aspirin or, in children, non-aspirin pain-killers such as acetaminophen, cool baths, or sponging to reduce the fever while seeking medical help. Fever may occur with almost any type of infection of illness. The temperature is measured with a thermometer. Fever has been used as a tool to treat disease by deliberately raising the temperature of the patient's body. Fever therapy was pioneered by the Austrian neuropsychiatrist Julius Wagner von Jauregg (1857-1940). He inoculated malaria into his patients with dementia paralytica, the third and final stage of syphilis when it affects the nervous system and brain; the patients not surprisingly developed a high fever; and the fever halted the relentless course of the syphilis. "For his discovery of the therapeutic value of malaria inoculation in the treatment of dementia paralytica" Wagner von Jauregg received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1927. Induced-fever therapy is rarely, if ever, employed today. However, sometimes a patient with a very high fever from an infection upon recovery from the infection enters into a most improbable remission from an unrelated disease or is even cured of it! (This writer has cared for two such remarkable patients.) Also called pyrexia.
* * *A complex physiologic response to disease mediated by pyrogenic cytokines and characterized by a rise in core temperature, generation of acute phase reactants, and activation of immune systems. SYN: febris, pyrexia. [A.S. fefer]- absorption f. an elevation of temperature often occurring, without other untoward symptoms, shortly after childbirth, assumed to be due to absorption of uterine discharges through abrasions of the vaginal wall.- acclimating f. elevated temperature with malaise that occurs upon working in a very hot environment.- Aden f. SYN: dengue.- aestivoautumnal f. SYN: falciparum malaria.- African hemorrhagic f. hemorrhagic f. associated with the morphologically similar but antigenically distinct Marburg and Ebola viruses as well as numerous other viruses that cause similar diseases. SEE ALSO: viral hemorrhagic f..- African tick f. SYN: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic f..- African tick-bite f. a febrile disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia africae in southern Africa and characterized by taches noires at the sites of bites by infected Amblyomma ticks and lymphadenopathy.- algid pernicious f. a pernicious malarial attack in which the patient presents symptoms of collapse and shock.- ardent f. a term sometimes applied to hyperpyrexia occurring in intermittent malarial f.. SYN: heat apoplexy (2).- Argentinean hemorrhagic f. a form of hemorrhagic f. observed in South America, seemingly transmitted by contact from rodents to humans and caused by the Junin virus, a member of the family Arenaviridae.- artificial f. SYN: pyretotherapy.- aseptic f. f. accompanied by malaise due to absorption of dead but not infected tissue following an injury.- Assam f. SYN: visceral leishmaniasis.- Australian Q f. a variety of Q f. occurring in Australia; an acute infectious rickettsial infection caused by Coxiella burnetii and transmitted by ticks, enzootic in animals in Australia, especially bandicoots.- autumn f. 1. a f. resembling dengue occurring at the end of the summer in India; SYN: seven-day f. (1). 2. SYN: hasamiyami.- bilious remittent f. 1. old term for relapsing f.; 2. malarial “bilious” vomiting associated with marked increase of serum bilirubin.- black f. SYN: Rocky Mountain spotted f..- blackwater f. hemoglobinuria resulting from severe hemolysis occurring in falciparum malaria. SYN: malarial hemoglobinuria.- blue f. SYN: Rocky Mountain spotted f..- Bolivian hemorrhagic f. a disease similar to Argentinian hemorrhagic f. but caused by the Machupo virus, a member of the family Arenaviridae.- boutonneuse f. SYN: Mediterranean spotted f..- brass founder's f. an occupational disease, characterized by malaria-like symptoms, due to inhalation of particles and fumes of metallic oxides. Fumes are formed by evaporation at very high temperature and condensation in air into fine particles. SYN: brass founder's ague, foundryman's f., metal fume f., zinc fume f..- Brazilian hemorrhagic f. SYN: Brazilian spotted f..- Brazilian purpuric f. SYN: Brazilian spotted f..- Brazilian spotted f. fulminating sepsis, usually beginning with conjunctivitis, characterized by purpuric skin lesions, a high fatality rate; thought to be due to Haemophilus aegyptius. SYN: Brazilian hemorrhagic f., Brazilian purpuric f..- breakbone f. SYN: dengue.- Bunyamwera f. a febrile illness of humans in Africa caused by the Bunyamwera virus (family Bunyaviridae) and transmitted by culicine mosquitoes.- Burdwan f. SYN: visceral leishmaniasis.- Bwamba f. a febrile illness of humans in Africa caused by a virus of the family Bunyaviridae and transmitted by mosquitoes.- camp f. 1. any epidemic febrile illness affecting troops in an encampment; 2. obsolete term for typhus.- canicola f. a disease of humans caused by the canicola serovar of Leptospira interrogans and transmitted by infective urine, usually from dogs but rarely from cattle and swine.- catarrhal f. old term for the group of respiratory tract diseases including the common cold, influenza, and lobular and lobar pneumonia.- catscratch f. SYN: catscratch disease.- Central European tick-borne f. SYN: tick-borne encephalitis (Central European subtype).- cerebrospinal f. SYN: meningococcal meningitis.- Charcot intermittent f. f., chills, right upper quadrant pain, and jaundice associated with intermittently obstructing common duct stones.- childbed f. SYN: puerperal f..- Colorado tick f. an infection caused by Colorado tick f. virus and transmitted to humans by Dermacentor andersoni; the symptoms are mild, there is no rash, the temperature is not excessive, and the disease is rarely, if ever, fatal.- Congolian red f. SYN: murine typhus.- continued f. obsolete term for a continual febrile illness without intermittency as with malaria. Many cases were typhoid f., but included many types of febrile illnesses.- cotton-mill f. SYN: byssinosis.- Crimean f. SYN: Mediterranean spotted f..- Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic f. a form of hemorrhagic f. distinct from Omsk hemorrhagic f., occurring in central Russia, transmitted by species of the tick Hyalomma, and caused by Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic f. virus, a member of the Bunyaviridae family; horses are the chief reservoir of human infection; characterized by abrupt onset, high f., headache, myalgia, widespread petechial hemorrhagic lesions, gastrointestinal bleeding, high fatality rate. SYN: African tick f..- dandy f. SYN: dengue.- date f. SYN: dengue.- deer-fly f. SYN: tularemia.- dehydration f. SYN: thirst f..- desert f. SYN: primary coccidioidomycosis.- drug f. f. resulting from an allergic reaction to a drug that clears rapidly on discontinuation of the drug.- Dumdum f. SYN: visceral leishmaniasis.- Ebola hemorrhagic f. SYN: hemorrhagic f..- elephantoid f. lymphangitis and an elevation of temperature marking the beginning of endemic elephantiasis (filariasis).- entericoid f. a f., neither paratyphoid nor typhoid, resembling the latter.- epidemic hemorrhagic f. a condition characterized by acute onset of headache, chills and high f., sweating, thirst, photophobia, coryza, cough, myalgia, arthralgia, and abdominal pain with nausea and vomiting; this phase lasts from 3–6 days and is followed by capillary and renal interstitial hemorrhages, edema, oliguria, azotemia, and shock; most varieties are caused by numerous viruses including togaviruses, arenaviruses, flaviviruses, and bunyaviruses, and are rodent-borne. SYN: hemorrhagic f. with renal syndrome, Songo f..- epimastical f. a f. increasing steadily until its acme is reached, then declining by crisis or lysis.- eruptive f. SYN: Mediterranean spotted f..- exanthematous f. f. associated with an exanthem.- exsiccation f. SYN: thirst f..- falciparum f. SYN: falciparum malaria.- Far East hemorrhagic f. tick-borne infection with Rickettsia sibirica, seen primarily in Siberia and Mongolia.- fatigue f. an elevation of the body temperature, lasting sometimes several days, following excessive and long continued muscular exertion.- field f. a leptospirosis caused by leptospira.- five-day f. SYN: trench f..- Flinders Island spotted f. a febrile disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia honei in southeastern Australia and characterized by headache, myalgia, and maculopapular rash. [named after Flinders Island in Tasmania, Australia, from which the first cases of the disease were identified]- flood f. SYN: tsutsugamushi disease.- food f. a disorder seen primarily in childhood, consisting of a sudden rise of temperature accompanied by marked digestive disturbances, which lasts from a few days to several weeks; believed to be a form of food poisoning.- Fort Bragg f. SYN: pretibial f..- foundryman's f. SYN: brass founder's f..- Gambian f. an irregular relapsing f., lasting 1–4 days with intermissions of 2–5 days, marked by enlargement of the spleen, rapid pulse, and breathing; due to the presence in the blood of Trypanosoma brucei gambiense, the pathogenic microorganism of Gambian or West African sleeping sickness.- glandular f. SYN: infectious mononucleosis.- Haverhill f. an infection by Streptobacillus moniliformis marked by initial chills and high f. (gradually subsiding), by arthritis usually in the larger joints and spine, and by a rash occurring chiefly over the joints and on the extensor surfaces of the extremities; “Haverhill f.” is used to indicate Streptobacillus moniliformis infections not associated with rat bite but resulting from contaminated food or water. SYN: erythema arthriticum epidemicum. [Haverhill, MA, where an epidemic occurred in 1926]- hay f. a form of atopy characterized by an acute irritative inflammation of the mucous membranes of the eyes and upper respiratory passages accompanied by itching and profuse watery secretion, usually without temperature elevation, followed occasionally by bronchitis and asthma; the episode recurs annually at the same or nearly the same time of the year, in spring, summer, or late summer and autumn, caused by an allergic reaction to the pollen of trees, grasses, weeds, flowers, etc. SYN: allergic coryza.- hematuric bilious f. hematuria due to renal lesions caused by the malarial hematozoon, Plasmodium falciparum.- hemoglobinuric f. SYN: malarial hemoglobinuria.- hemorrhagic f. a syndrome that occurs in perhaps 20–40% of infections by a number of different viruses of the families Arenaviridae (Lassa f., Bolivian hemorrhagic f., Argentinean hemorrhagic f.), Bunyaviridae (Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic f.), Flaviviridae (Dengue hemorrhagic f., Omsk hemorrhagic f.), Filoviridae (Ebola f., Marburg virus disease), etc. Some types of hemorrhagic f. are tick-borne, others mosquito-borne, and some seem to be zoonoses; clinical manifestations are high f., scattered petechiae, gastrointestinal tract and other organ bleeding, hypotension, and shock; kidney damage may be severe, especially in Korean hemorrhagic f. and neurologic signs may appear, especially in the Argentinean-Bolivian types. Five types of hemorrhagic f. are transmissible person-to-person: Bolivian hemorrhagic f., Lassa f., Ebola f., Marburg virus disease, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic f.. SEE ALSO: epidemic hemorrhagic f.. SYN: Ebola hemorrhagic f..- hepatic intermittent f. ague-like paroxysms of f. occurring in cases of one or more stones in the common bile duct.- herpetic f. a disease of short duration, apparently infectious, marked by chills, nausea, elevation of temperature, sore throat, and a herpetic eruption on the face and other areas; primary infection is with herpes simplex virus.- icterohemorrhagic f. infection with the variety of Leptospira interrogans serotype known as icterohemorrhagiae, characterized by f., jaundice, hemorrhagic lesions, azotemia, and central nervous system manifestations. SYN: leptospirosis icterohemorrhagica.- Ilhéus f. a febrile illness caused by the Ilhéus virus, a Flavivirus, and transmitted by a mosquito. SEE ALSO: Ilhéus encephalitis.- induced f. SYN: pyretotherapy.- inundation f. SYN: tsutsugamushi disease.- island f. SYN: tsutsugamushi disease.- jail f. SYN: typhus.- Japanese river f. SYN: tsutsugamushi disease.- Japanese spotted f. a febrile disease caused by the bacterium Rickettsia japonica and characterized by headache and exanthema; found in Japan.- jungle f. SYN: malaria.- jungle yellow f. a form occurring in South America, transmitted by Aedes leucocelaenus and various treetop mosquitoes of the Haemagogus complex; transmitted normally to primates, occasionally by chance to humans to set off a human outbreak of classical yellow f. transmitted by Aedes aegypti.- kedani f. SYN: tsutsugamushi disease.- Kenya f. SYN: Mediterranean spotted f..- Kew Gardens f. SYN: rickettsialpox. [Kew Gardens, area in Queens, NYC, where first reported]- Kinkiang f. SYN: schistosomiasis japonica.- Korean hemorrhagic f. a form of epidemic hemorrhagic f. caused by the Hantaan virus. SYN: Manchurian hemorrhagic f..- Lassa f. a severe form of epidemic hemorrhagic f. which is highly fatal. It was first recognized in Lassa, Nigeria, is caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the Arenaviridae family, and is characterized by high f., sore throat, severe muscle aches, skin rash with hemorrhages, headache, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea; the multimammate rat Mastomys natalensis serves as reservoir, but person-to-person transmission also is common. SYN: Lassa hemorrhagic f..- Lassa hemorrhagic f. SYN: Lassa f..- laurel f. an affection of the same nature as hay f., occurring at the time of flowering of laurel.- Malta f. SYN: brucellosis.- Manchurian f. a f. closely resembling typhus that prevails from September to December in South Manchuria; the probable pathogen is Rickettsia manchuriae.- Manchurian hemorrhagic f. SYN: Korean hemorrhagic f..- Marseilles f. SYN: Mediterranean spotted f..- marsh f. SYN: malaria.- Mediterranean erythematous f. a form of Mediterranean spotted f. that causes skin redness; its course and other symptoms may be similar to those of Mediterranean exanthematous f.. See Rickettsia conorii.- Mediterranean exanthematous f. See boutonneuse f..- Mediterranean spotted f. tick-borne infection with Rickettsia conorii seen in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and India and known by different names in different areas, e.g., Marseilles f., Crimean f., Indian tick typhus, and Kenya f.. Two forms are Mediterranean exanthematous f. (q.v.), which manifests as skin eruptions, and Mediterranean erythematous f. (q.v.), which manifests as skin redness. See Rickettsia conorii. SYN: boutonneuse f., Crimean f., eruptive f., fièvre boutonneuse, Indian tick typhus, Kenya f., Marseilles f., tick typhus.- meningotyphoid f. typhoid f. marked by symptoms of irritation or inflammation of the cerebral or spinal meninges.- metal fume f. SYN: brass founder's f..- Mexican spotted f. SYN: Rocky Mountain spotted f..- miliary f. 1. an infectious disease characterized by profuse sweating and the production of sudamina, occurring formerly in severe epidemics; 2. SYN: miliaria.- milk f. 1. a slight elevation of temperature following childbirth, said to be due to the establishment of the secretion of milk, but probably the same as absorption f.; 2. an afebrile metabolic disease, occurring shortly after parturition in dairy cattle, characterized by hypocalcemia and manifested by loss of consciousness and general paralysis.- mill f. SYN: byssinosis.- miniature scarlet f. a reaction consisting of f., nausea, vomiting, and a transient scarlatiniform rash that appears in a susceptible person when injected with the toxin of Streptococcus pyogenes. [L. minio, pp. atus, to color with minium, red-lead]- Mossman f. a f., noted especially among sugar-cane cutters in the Mossman District of North Queensland, caused by a leptospira.- mud f. a leptospirosis caused by the grippotyphosa serovar of Leptospira interrogans;- mumu f. samoan term for elephantoid f..- nanukayami f. a form of leptospirosis known in Japan and caused by a leptospira normally found in the field mouse or vole. SYN: nanukayami.- nine mile f. SYN: Q f..- nodal f. SYN: erythema nodosum.- North Queensland tick f. a mild form of tick-borne typhus with eschar, adenopathy, rash, and f., caused by Rickettsia australis and thought to be transmitted by the tick, Ixodes holocyclus.- Omsk hemorrhagic f. a form of epidemic hemorrhagic f. found in central Russia, caused by the Omsk hemorrhagic f. virus, a member of the family Flaviviridae, and transmitted by Dermacentor ticks; associated with gastrointestinal symptoms and hemorrhages but little or no central nervous system involvement.- o'nyong-nyong f. a denguelike disease caused by the o'nyong-nyong virus, a member of the family Togaviridae, and transmitted by a mosquito, characterized by joint pains and notable lymphadenopathy followed by a maculopapular eruption of the face which extends to the trunk and extremities but fades in several days without desquamation.- Oroya f. a generalized, acute, febrile, endemic, and systemic form of bartonellosis; marked by high f., rheumatic pains, progressive, severe anemia, and albuminuria. SYN: Carrión disease.- pappataci f. SYN: phlebotomus f..- paratyphoid f. an acute infectious disease with symptoms and lesions resembling those of typhoid f., though milder in character; associated with the presence of the paratyphoid organism of which at least three varieties (types A, B, and C) have been described. SYN: paratyphoid.- parenteric f. one of a group of fevers clinically resembling typhoid and paratyphoid A and B, but caused by bacteria differing specifically from those of either of these diseases.- parrot f. SYN: psittacosis.- periodic f. an obsolete term introduced to describe the intermittent febrile episodes seen in disease later recognized and named familial Mediterranean f..- Persian relapsing f. a tick-borne relapsing f., occurring in the Middle East, caused by Borrelia persica and transmitted by Ornithodoros tholozani and possibly by Ornithodoros lahorensis.- pharyngoconjunctival f. a disease usually occurring in epidemic form characterized by f., pharyngitis, and conjunctivitis, and caused by several types of adenoviruses.- Philippine hemorrhagic f. severe arbovirus infection with hemorrhagic manifestations, considerable mortality, probably due to mosquito borne dengue virus; seen in tropical and subtropical urban areas of southeast Asia, South Pacific, Australia, Central and South America, and the Caribbean islands.- phlebotomus f. an infectious but not contagious disease occurring in the Balkan Peninsula and other parts of southern Europe, caused by several viruses in the family Bunyaviridae apparently introduced by the bite of the sandfly, Phlebotomus papatasii; symptoms resemble those of dengue but are less severe and of shorter duration. SYN: dog disease, pappataci f., Pym f., sandfly f., three-day f..- polka f. SYN: dengue.- polyleptic f. a f. occurring in two or more paroxysms; e.g., smallpox, relapsing f., intermittent f.. Cf.:monoleptic f..- polymer fume f. an occupational disease marked by f., pain in the chest, and cough caused by the inhalation of fumes given off by a plastic, polytetrafluorethylene, when heated.- pretibial f. a mild disease first observed among military personnel at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, characterized by f., moderate prostration, splenomegaly, and a rash on the anterior aspects of the legs; due to the autumnalis serovar of Leptospira interrogans. SYN: Fort Bragg f..- puerperal f. postpartum sepsis with a rise in f. after the first 24 hours following delivery, but before the eleventh postpartum day. SYN: childbed f., puerperal sepsis.- Pym f. SYN: phlebotomus f..- pyogenic f. SYN: pyemia.- Q f. a disease caused by the rickettsia Coxiella burnetii, which is propagated in sheep and cattle, where it produces no symptoms; human infections occur as a result of contact not only with such animals but also with other infected humans, air and dust, wild reservoir hosts, and other sources. SYN: nine mile f.. [Q, for “query,” so named because etiologic agent was unknown]- quartan f. SYN: malariae malaria.- quintan f. SYN: trench f..- rabbit f. SYN: tularemia.- rat-bite f. a single designation for two bacterial diseases associated with rat bites, one caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis ( e.g., Haverhill f.), the other by Spirillum minus ( e.g., sodoku); both diseases are characterized by relapsing f., chills, headache, arthralgia, lymphadenopathy, and a maculopapular rash on the extremities. SYN: rat-bite disease, sodoku, sokosho.- red f., red f. of the Congo SYN: murine typhus.- relapsing f. an acute infectious disease caused by any one of a number of strains of Borrelia, marked by a number of febrile attacks lasting about 6 days and separated from each other by apyretic intervals of about the same length; the microorganism is found in the blood during the febrile periods but not during the intervals, the disappearance being associated with specific antibodies and previously evoked antibodies. There are two epidemiologic varieties: 1) the louse-borne variety, occurring chiefly in Europe, northern Africa, and India, and caused by strains of B. recurrentis; 2) the tick-borne variety, occurring in Africa, Asia, and North and South America, caused by various species of Borrelia, each of which is transmitted by a different species of the soft tick, Ornithodoros. SYN: bilious typhoid of Griesinger, recurrent f., spirillum f., typhinia.- remittent f. a f. pattern in which temperature varies during each 24 hour period, but never reaches normal. Most fevers are remittent and the pattern is not characteristic of any disease, although in the 19th century it was considered a diagnostic term.- rheumatic f. a subacute febrile syndrome occurring after group A β-hemolytic streptococcal infection (usually pharyngitis) and mediated by an immune response to the organism; most often seen in children and young adults; features include f., myocarditis (causing tachycardia and sometimes acute cardiac failure), endocarditis (with valvular incompetence, followed after healing by scarring), and migratory polyarthritis; less often, subcutaneous nodules, erythema marginatum, and Syndenham chorea; relapses can occur after reinfection with streptococci.Criteria for diagnosis of acute rheumatic f. were published by Jones in 1944. Regimens for prevention of initial and recurring attacks, and guidelines for treatment, have remained essentially unchanged for decades. Although acute rheumatic f. has ceased to be a major public health problem in the U.S., the incidence is still high in developing countries. In India, for example, where medical services have failed to keep pace with urbanization and industrialization, 250,000 new cases are diagnosed in school children annually. The incidence of rheumatic f. in the U.S., which had declined steadily for several decades after antibiotic treatment of streptococcal pharyngitis (strep throat) became standard, began rising again in the late 1980s and 1990s, with some urban clusters showing a 10-fold increase in incidence. Historically, rheumatic f. is a disease of children in lower socioeconomic strata. In a number of recent clusters, most of the victims were adults, and when children have been involved, they have often belonged to middle- and upper-class families. As many as 75% of patients denied any history of recent sore throat, and some of those who had been diagnosed with preceding strep throat had been treated with antibiotics. Cardiac and articular manifestations of rheumatic f. are considered autoimmune phenomena, due to a postulated rheumatogenic factor that has never been isolated. Pathogenicity in streptococci is known to be associated with the presence of an M protein in the cell membrane, which is also responsible for the appearance of a surface fuzz on microscopic examination of organisms, and the production of mucoid colonies on blood agar. Organisms implicated in several recent clusters of rheumatic f. have belonged to mucoid strains, particularly serotypes M 3 and M 18. Widespread antibiotic use in recent years, not all of it appropriate or justified by current medical knowledge, may have led to the resurgence of rheumatic f. by favoring the rise and spread of virulent strains of streptococcus, or by reducing the ability of certain populations to mount an immune response against them. Infectious disease authorities are currently reevaluating the diagnosis and management of streptococcal infection, particularly with respect to rapid slide tests and to drug regimens approved for use in the treatment of acute streptococcal pharyngitis and hence in the prophylaxis of rheumatic f.. See Jones criteria, under criterion.- rice-field f. a febrile illness affecting workers in rice fields, reported in Po valley in Italy and in Sumatra, caused by infection with a species of Leptospira.- Rift Valley f. a fatal endemic disease of sheep, caused by Rift Valley f. virus, a member of the family Bunyaviridae, which is also pathogenic for humans and cattle, producing in humans f. of an undifferentiated type; transmitted by mosquitoes and direct contact. [Rift Valley in Kenya]- Rocky Mountain spotted f. an acute infectious disease of high mortality, characterized by frontal and occipital headache, intense lumbar pain, malaise, a moderately high continuous f., and a rash on wrists, palms, ankles, and soles from the second to the fifth day, later spreading to all parts of the body; it occurs in the spring of the year primarily in the southeastern U.S. and the Rocky Mountain region, although it is also endemic elsewhere in the U.S., in parts of Canada, in Mexico, and in South America; the pathogenic organism is Rickettsia rickettsii, transmitted by two or more tick species of the genus Dermacentor; in the U.S. it is spread by D. andersoni in the western states and D. variabilis (a dog tick) in the eastern states. SYN: black f., black measles (2), blue disease, blue f., Mexican spotted f., São Paulo f., Tobia f..- Roman f. malignant tertian, falciparum, or aestivoautumnal f., formerly prevalent in the Roman Campagna and in the city of Rome; caused by Plasmodium falciparum.- sakushu f. SYN: hasamiyami.- Salinem f. infection with Leptospira pyrogenes, reported in Salinem. SYN: Salinem infection.- salt f. elevated temperature in an infant, following a rectal injection of a salt solution. SEE ALSO: thirst f..- sandfly f. SYN: phlebotomus f..- San Joaquin f. SYN: primary coccidioidomycosis.- São Paulo f. SYN: Rocky Mountain spotted f..- scarlet f. SYN: scarlatina.- Sennetsu f. a disease of humans in western Japan caused by the rickettsia Ehrlichia sennetsu and characterized by f., malaise, anorexia, backache, and lymphadenopathy.- septic f. SYN: septicemia.- seven-day f. 1. SYN: autumn f. (1). 2. SYN: hasamiyami.- shoddy f. febrile disease occurring in workers in shoddy factories, with cough, dyspnea and headache, caused by inhalation of dust.- simian hemorrhagic f. a highly fatal disease of macaque monkeys caused by the simian hemorrhagic f. virus and characterized by f., facial edema, anorexia, adipsia, skin petechiae, diarrhea, hemorrhages, and death.- Sindbis f. a febrile illness of humans in Africa, Australia, and other countries, characterized by arthralgia, rash, and malaise; caused by the Sindbis virus, a member of the family Togaviridae, and transmitted by culicine mosquitoes.- slime f. leptospiral infection with jaundice, presumably infection by Leptospira icterohemorrhagica.- smelter's f. metal fume f., occurring in workers in zinc smelters. SYN: smelter's chills, smelter's shakes.- snail f. SYN: schistosomiasis.- Songo f. SYN: epidemic hemorrhagic f..- South African tick-bite f. a typhuslike f. of South Africa caused by Rickettsia rickettsii and usually characterized by primary eschar and regional adenitis, rigors, and maculopapular rash on the fifth day, often with severe central nervous system symptoms.- steroid f. f. presumably caused by elevated plasma concentrations of certain pyrogenic steroids; can be produced by administration of etiocholanolone.- symptomatic f. SYN: traumatic f..- syphilitic f. the elevation of temperature often present in the early roseolous stage of secondary syphilis.- tertian f. SYN: vivax malaria.- therapeutic f. SYN: pyrotherapy.- thermic f. SYN: heatstroke.- thirst f. an elevation of temperature in infants after reduction of fluid intake, diarrhea, or vomiting; probably caused by reduced available body water, with reduced heat loss by evaporation; an analogous condition in adults is seen when exertion is continued in the face of dehydration. SYN: dehydration f., exsiccation f., inanition f..- three-day f. SYN: phlebotomus f..- Tobia f. SYN: Rocky Mountain spotted f..- trench f. an uncommon rickettsial f. caused by Bartonella quintana and transmitted by the louse Pediculus humanus, first appearing as an epidemic during the trench warfare of World War I; characterized by the sudden onset of chills and f., myalgia (especially of the back and legs), headache, and general malaise that typically lasts 5 days but may recur. SYN: five-day f., quintan f., shin bone f..- tsutsugamushi f. SYN: tsutsugamushi disease.- typhoid f. an acute infectious disease caused by Salmonella typhi and characterized by a continued f. rising in a steplike curve the first week, severe physical and mental depression, an eruption of rose-colored spots on the chest and abdomen, tympanites, early constipation, diarrhea, and sometimes intestinal hemorrhage or perforation of the bowel; average duration is 4 weeks, although aborted forms and relapses are not uncommon; the lesions are located chiefly in the lymph follicles of the intestines (Peyer patches), the mesenteric glands, and the spleen; antibody titer of the Widal test rises during the infection, and early positive blood and urine cultures become negative, usually results in immunity. SYN: abdominal typhoid, enteric f. (1), typhoid (2).- undifferentiated type fevers a term applied to illnesses resulting from infection by any virus, that was formerly in the arbovirus group, pathogenic for humans, in which the only constant manifestation is f.; rash, lymphadenopathy, or arthralgia (alone or in combination) may occur in some individuals but not in others; some viruses may induce infections in which undifferentiated type f. is the only manifestation, whereas other viruses may induce in some persons only undifferentiated f., and in other persons similar f. followed by secondary manifestations, e.g., a hemorrhagic f. or encephalitis.- undulating f. SYN: brucellosis.- f. of unknown origin the presence of f. (temperature >101°F or 38.3°C) of unknown cause after intensive investigation. Exact criteria for use of term vary, especially regarding duration of f. and extent of clinical investigation; generally a duration of greater than 1 week (some authors require 2–3 weeks) and thorough inpatient investigation or at least three outpatient visits, including a careful history, physical examination, and laboratory tests such as cultures, serologic studies, and invasive procedures for biopsy and/or culture, as indicated by clinical clues or epidemiological considerations.- urinary f. an elevation of temperature, usually slight and transitory, following catheterization of the urethra, or the passage of blood clots, gravel, or a calculus. SYN: catheter f., urethral f..- urticarial f. SYN: schistosomiasis japonica.- uveoparotid f. chronic enlargement of the parotid glands and inflammation of the uveal tract accompanied by a long-continued f. of low degree; now recognized as a form of sarcoidosis. SYN: Heerfordt disease.- Uzbekistan hemorrhagic f. a viral f. in central Asia probably transmitted by Hyalomma anatolicum.- Venezuelan hemorrhagic f. a febrile disease caused by the Guanarito virus in Venezuela and characterized by headache, arthralgia, pharyngitis, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and hemorrhagic manifestations.- viral hemorrhagic f. an epidemic disease, and associated with f., malaise, muscular pain, respiratory tract symptoms, vomiting, and diarrhea; epistaxis, hemoptysis, hematemesis, and subconjunctival hemorrhages occur in severe cases, and body rash and tremors occur in some instances; a disease caused by a number of different viruses in the families Arenoviridae, Bunyviridae, Flaviviridae, Filoviridae, etc. SEE ALSO: hemorrhagic f..- vivax f. SYN: vivax malaria.- Wesselsbron f. a mosquito-borne disease of sheep and humans caused by the Wesselsbron disease virus, a member of the family Flaviviridae, and characterized by abortion and lamb mortality in sheep and by f., headache, muscular pains, and mild rash in humans. SYN: Wesselsbron disease. [Wesselsbron, town in South Africa where causative agent first isolated]- West Nile f. a febrile illness caused by West Nile virus, a member of the family Flaviviridae, and characterized by headache, f., maculopapular rash, myalgia, lymphadenopathy, and leukopenia; spread by Culex mosquitoes from a reservoir in birds.- Yangtze Valley f. SYN: schistosomiasis japonica.- yellow f. a tropical mosquito-borne viral hepatitis, due to yellow f. virus, a member of the family Flaviviridae, with an urban form transmitted by Aedes aegypti, and a rural, jungle, or sylvatic form from tree-dwelling mammals by various mosquitoes of the Haemagogus species complex; characterized clinically by f., slow pulse, albuminuria, jaundice, congestion of the face, and hemorrhages, especially hematemesis; used to occur in epidemics mainly in port cities, especially in late summer, with 20–40% case fatality rates; immunity to reinfection accompanies recovery.- Zika f. an acute disease, probably transmitted by mosquitoes, clinically resembling dengue; caused by Zika virus, a member of the family Flaviviridae.- zinc fume f. SYN: brass founder's f..
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fe·ver 'fē-vər n1) a rise of body temperature above the normal whether a natural response (as to infection) or artificially induced for therapeutic reasons2) an abnormal bodily state characterized by increased production of heat, accelerated heart action and pulse, and systemic debility with weakness, loss of appetite, and thirstfever vb, fe·vered; fe·ver·ing 'fēv-(ə-)riŋ vt to affect with fever <the malarial plasmodia \fevered him> vi to contract or be in a fever: be or become feverish <the malaria victim \fevered intermittently>* * *
n.a rise in body temperature above the normal, i.e. above an oral temperature of 98.6°F (37°C) or a rectal temperature of 99°F (37.2°C). Fever is generally accompanied by shivering, headache, nausea, constipation, or diarrhoea. A rise in temperature above 105°F (40.5°C) may cause delirium and, in young children, convulsion too. Fevers are usually caused by bacterial or viral infections and can accompany any infectious illness, from the common cold to malaria. An intermittent fever is a periodic rise and fall in body temperature, often returning to normal during the day and reaching its peak at night, as in malaria. A remittent fever is one in which body temperature fluctuates but does not return to normal. See also relapsing fever.* * *
fe·ver (feґvər) [L. febris] 1. elevation of body temperature above the normal; it may be due to physiological stresses such as ovulation, excess thyroid hormone secretions, or vigorous exercise; to central nervous system lesions or infection by microorganisms; or to any of a host of noninfectious processes, such as inflammation or the release of certain materials, as in leukemia. Called also pyrexia. 2. any disease characterized by elevated body temperature.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
