Main Entry:

han·ta·vi·rus

Pronunciation:

\ˈhän-tə-ˌvī-rəs, ˈhən-, ˈhan-\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

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

Date:

1984

: 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