hantavirus

noun han·ta·vi·rus \ˈhän-tə-ˌvī-rəs, ˈhən-, ˈhan-\

Definition of HANTAVIRUS

: any of a genus (Hantavirus) of bunyaviruses transmitted especially by rodent feces and urine and including viruses causing serious pulmonary disease or hemorrhagic fevers marked by renal necrosis

Origin of HANTAVIRUS

New Latin, from hanta- (from Hantaan, river in South Korea near where rodents carrying the virus were collected 1974–78) + virus

First Known Use: 1984

Rhymes with HANTAVIRUS

arbovirus, bearded iris, echovirus, herpesvirus, lentivirus, parvovirus, rhinovirus, rotavirus, West Nile virus

Medical Dictionary

hantavirus

noun han·ta·vi·rus \ˈhan-tə-ˌvī-rəs, ˈhən-, ˈhän-\

Medical Definition of HANTAVIRUS

capitalized : a genus of single-stranded RNA viruses of the family Bunyaviridae that infect specific rodents as their natural hosts and that include some forms causing hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in humans following exposure to the virus in airborne particles of rodent urine, feces, or saliva or directly by the bite of a rodent

: any virus (as the Hantaan virus) of the genus Hantavirus