hantavirus
noun
han·ta·vi·rus
| \ ˈhän-tə-ˌvī-rəs
, ˈhən-
, ˈhan-
\
, 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
Examples of hantavirus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The most common modern theory suggests that the outbreaks may have been a form of hantavirus, similar to a hantavirus pulmonary syndrome that struck the American southwest in the 1990s. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, "The Cause of Prince Arthur Tudor's Death Remains a Medical Mystery," 13 May 2019 After the man collapsed on June 1 on the track grounds beside the ramshackle employee housing run by the New York Racing Association, and died less than a week later, state health officials suspected hantavirus. — Sarah Maslin Nir, New York Times, "Hantavirus Was Not the Cause of Belmont Park Worker’s Death," 24 June 2018 Anyone who comes into contact with a rodent that carries hantavirus is at risk of contracting an infection. — Korin Miller, SELF, "What to Know About Hantavirus—the Rare Illness That Killed a Woman in New Mexico," 2 May 2018 Kiley Lane, of Farmington, was diagnosed with hantavirus in February after experiencing abdominal pain and being placed on a ventilator, her mother Julie Barron told PEOPLE at the time. — Char Adams, PEOPLE.com, "New Mexico Mom, 27, Dies After Contracting Extremely Rare Rodent-Borne Virus," 1 May 2018 Image The death of a worker at the Belmont Park racetrack this month was the result of bacterial sepsis, not hantavirus, a rat-borne illness that was initially suspected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — Sarah Maslin Nir, New York Times, "Hantavirus Was Not the Cause of Belmont Park Worker’s Death," 24 June 2018 Deer mice host hantavirus, and people contract it when fresh droppings, urine, saliva or nesting matter are disturbed, causing them to breathe in infectious materials. — Molly Sullivan, sacbee, "Hantavirus linked to death of Placer County man," 31 May 2018 When hantavirus emerged in the Southwestern United States in 1993, for example, research using the museum’s collections showed that the disease was present in deer mice as far back as 1979. — Daniel Fernandez, Smithsonian, "How Globalization Changed the Way We Fight Disease," 4 June 2018 No one is quite sure how Lane contracted hantavirus. — Sarah Klein, Health.com, "This Woman Died From Hantavirus—a Rare Infection Initially Mistaken for the Flu," 27 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hantavirus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for hantavirus
hantavirus
noun
han·ta·vi·rus
| \ ˈhan-tə-ˌvī-rəs
, ˈhən-
, ˈhän-
\
, ˈhən-
, ˈhän-
\
Medical Definition of hantavirus
1
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
2
: any virus (as the Hantaan virus) of the genus Hantavirus