Frambesia

/fræmˈbiːziə/ noun

Definition

A tropical disease caused by a spirochete bacterium, also called yaws; it causes raspberry-like skin lesions.

Etymology

From French 'framboise' (raspberry) + Latin '-ia' (medical suffix for diseases). The name references the disease's characteristic raspberry-colored skin sores that resembled the fruit.

Kelly Says

Yaws is one of history's most curable diseases—antibiotics can wipe it out completely—yet it still affects thousands of people in tropical regions because of limited healthcare access, making this obscure disease name still medically important.

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