Daily AncestorGastric fever
Gastric fever was an 1800s name for typhoid fever, chosen because of the stomach and bowel symptoms that came with the long fever.
Typhoid has been known by many names tied to its symptoms, including gastric fever, enteric fever, slow fever and nervous fever. Gastric points to the stomach upset, belly pain and diarrhea that often came with it.
Some doctors also used gastric fever for other feverish stomach illnesses, so it is a strong hint of typhoid rather than proof. Several cases in one family or neighborhood make typhoid more likely.
As seen in a recordCause of death column, 1850 to 1880 federal mortality schedule
Emma Barr, 16, F, W, Sept., Gastric fever, 21 days
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Daily Ancestor. "Gastric fever." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/causes-of-death/gastric-fever. Last checked 2026-10-01.