Roman fever refers to a particularly deadly strain of malaria that affected Rome, Italy, throughout various epochs in history[1]; an epidemic of Roman fever during the fifth century AD may have contributed to the fall of the Roman empire. It was thought that Roman fever was contracted at night, and thus that it was dangerous to venture out, a belief that American authors Henry James and Edith Wharton employ in their stories "Daisy Miller" and "Roman Fever," respectively.
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