1.
yellow fever
An acute viral infectious disease spread by mosquitoes, occurring in tropical regions of Africa and South America. Causes high fever, jaundice (hence the "yellow" in the name), bleeding, and in severe cases organ failure. Travelers to endemic areas are often required to show proof of vaccination.
There are countries where a yellow fever vaccination certificate is required when entering.
Composed of 黄 (yellow) + 熱 (fever) + -病 (disease). The name is a calque of the English "yellow fever": the "yellow" refers to the jaundice that appears in severe cases when the virus damages the liver.
Usage
Primarily appears in public-health news, travel medicine, and history. In Japan, the word is especially associated with the bacteriologist 野口英世 (1876-1928), who investigated yellow fever in West Africa and died of the disease there; his portrait appeared on the 1,000-yen note from 2004 to 2024.
Common collocations
- 黄熱病にかかる: to catch yellow fever
- 黄熱病の予防接種: yellow fever vaccination
- 黄熱病ワクチン: yellow fever vaccine
- 黄熱病流行地域: yellow-fever endemic area
- 黄熱病の研究: yellow-fever research
Similar words
- デング熱: dengue fever — another mosquito-borne viral fever, more widespread in Asia
- マラリア: malaria — a mosquito-borne parasitic disease, not viral
- ジカ熱: Zika fever — a different mosquito-borne viral disease
- 感染症: infectious disease — the general category
- 風土病: endemic disease — a disease characteristic of a particular region
Related Words
Compare:
感染症 (infectious disease)