Sentence:  The State posts were “clearings,” less than one hundred yards square, cut out of the jungle. Sometimes only black men were in charge, but as a rule the chef de poste was a lonely, <WSD>fever-ridden</WSD> white, whose only interest in our arrival was his hope that we might spare him quinine. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  ("of a person") Suffering from fever.