Norwalk virus

noun Nor·walk virus \ ˈnȯr-ˌwȯk- \

Definition of Norwalk virus

:a highly infectious virus first identified as the causative agent of an outbreak of gastroenteritis in a school in Norwalk, Ohio in 1968

Note: Norwalk virus was later officially classified as a norovirus (species Norwalk virus). While the originally identified virus and closely related forms may still be referred to as Norwalk viruses, they are now more commonly called noroviruses.

Origin and Etymology of norwalk virus

Norwalk, Ohio, site of an outbreak of the virus in 1968

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1983

See Words from the same year

Medical Dictionary

Norwalk virus

noun Nor·walk virus \ ˈnȯ(ə)r-ˌwȯk- \

variants: also Norwalk agent

medical Definition of Norwalk virus

:a highly infectious virus first identified as the causative agent of an outbreak of gastroenteritis in a school in Norwalk, Ohio in 1968

Note: Norwalk virus was later officially classified as a norovirus (species Norwalk virus). While the originally identified virus and closely related forms may still be referred to as Norwalk viruses, they are now more commonly called noroviruses.

Norwalk viruses are important causes of both sporadic and epidemic gastroenteritis.
—Melvin A. Kohn, The Journal of the American Medical Association, 8 Feb. 1995