Main Entry: han·ta·vi·rus

Pronunciation: \ˈhan-tə-ˌvī-rəs, ˈhən-, ˈhän-\

Function: noun

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