hantavirus

han·ta·vi·rus  (hnt-vrs)

n.

Any of a group of viruses carried by rodents that cause epidemic hemorrhagic fever and severe respiratory infections in humans.

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[After the Hantan River, South Korea (near which Westerners were first infected by the virus in the 1950s).]

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hantavirus [ˈhæntəˌvaɪrəs]

n

(Medicine / Pathology) any one of a group of viruses that are transmitted to humans by rodents and cause disease of varying severity, ranging from a mild form of influenza to respiratory or kidney failure

[from Hanta(an), river in North and South Korea where the disease was first reported + virus]

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hantavirus  (hnt-vrs)

Any of a group of viruses of the genus Hantavirus, carried by rodents, that cause severe respiratory infections in humans and, in some cases, hemorrhaging, kidney disease, and death.