rotavirus
noun
ro·ta·vi·rus
ˈrō-tə-ˌvī-rəs 
: any of a genus (Rotavirus) of reoviruses that have a three-layered protein capsid with no outer lipid envelope when mature and that include one (species Rotavirus A) causing epidemics of severe and sometimes fatal diarrhea in infants and young children
Examples of rotavirus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Secondary lactase deficiency can happen after an infection with rotavirus or giardia.
—
Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 14 Mar. 2025
This group of viruses includes adenovirus, rotavirus, and hepatitis A virus.
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025
Read: How America’s fire wall against disease starts to fail
Paul Offit, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and co-inventor of one of the two rotavirus vaccines available in the U.S., needs only to look at his own family to see the potential consequences.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2025
One of the email recipients was Dr. Paul Offit, director of the vaccine education center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, and a member of the committee since 2017.
—Alice Park, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
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Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 14 Mar. 2025
This group of viruses includes adenovirus, rotavirus, and hepatitis A virus.
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025
Read: How America’s fire wall against disease starts to fail
Paul Offit, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and co-inventor of one of the two rotavirus vaccines available in the U.S., needs only to look at his own family to see the potential consequences.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2025
One of the email recipients was Dr. Paul Offit, director of the vaccine education center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, and a member of the committee since 2017.
—Alice Park, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rotavirus
Cite this Entry
“Rotavirus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rotavirus. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
rotavirus
noun
ro·ta·vi·rus
ˈrōt-ə-ˌvī-rəs
1
capitalized
: a genus of reoviruses that are causative agents of gastroenteritis and that include one (species Rotavirus A) causing epidemics of severe and sometimes fatal diarrhea in infants and young children
Note: Viruses of the genus Rotavirus have a virion with a three-layered protein capsid lacking an outer lipid envelope when mature and a core of 11 discrete segments of double-stranded RNA.
2
: any virus of the genus Rotavirus
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