rick·ett·si·a (r -k t s - )n. pl. rick·ett·si·ae (-s - ) Any of various bacteria of the genus Rickettsia, carried as parasites by many ticks, fleas, and lice, that cause diseases such as typhus, scrub typhus, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever in humans. [New Latin Rickettsia, genus name, after Howard Taylor Ricketts (1871-1910), American pathologist.] rick·ett si·al adj. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | rickettsia - any of a group of very small rod-shaped bacteria that live in biting arthropods (as ticks and mites) and cause disease in vertebrate hosts; they cause typhus and other febrile diseases in human beings eubacteria, eubacterium, true bacteria - a large group of bacteria having rigid cell walls; motile types have flagella family Rickettsiaceae, Rickettsiaceae - microorganism resembling bacteria inhabiting arthropod tissues but capable of causing disease in vertebrates |
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