Barcoo rot

English

Etymology

A reference to the Barcoo river in Queensland.

Noun

Barcoo rot (uncountable)

1. (Australia, informal, pathology) An ulcerous skin condition, apparently endemic to tropical or desert climates.
   • 1917, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Journal of tropical Medicine And Hygiene, Volumes 20-21, page 228,

     The infection does not spread from one to another among the troops, and barcoo rot affects men living in solitude.

   • 1917, letter, British Medical Journal, Volume 1917, page 468,

     Colonel CJ Martin gives some observations on " barcoo rot." This is a very loosely applied term. The original "barcoo rot," as experienced by the older bushmen, was scurvy pure and simple.

   • 2009, Mike Keenan, The Shadows of Horses, page 225,

     Add Barcoo rot to the torment and it was little wonder some boys came down with fever. Barcoo rot is a dreaded infection in the Barcoo and Thomson watersheds and it spreads voraciously in the humid summer months.

Synonyms

• desert sores
• veldt sore