hantavirus

noun

han·​ta·​vi·​rus ˈhän-tə-ˌvī-rəs  ˈhən-  ˈhan- 

: any of a family (Hantaviridae and especially genus Orthohantavirus) of bunyaviruses transmitted especially by rodent feces and urine and including viruses causing serious pulmonary disease or hemorrhagic fevers marked by renal necrosis

Examples of hantavirus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

First, both viruses are transmitted by direct contact with an infected person (or rodent, in the case of hantavirus). —Alice Park, Time, 12 June 2026

Last year, when actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their New Mexico home, authorities determined that Arakawa had died by complications caused by the hantavirus, with evidence of rodents on the property. —Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026

This type of hantavirus spreads between people through prolonged, close contact with a sick person. —Grant Stringer, Mercury News, 12 June 2026

Because hantavirus was not suspected at the time of his death, no test samples were taken, but he is now believed to be the first hantavirus case on the ship. —Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1984, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hantavirus

• antivirus
• herpesvirus
• parvovirus
• reovirus
• retrovirus
• rhinovirus
• rotavirus
• adenovirus
• baculovirus
• coronavirus
• enterovirus
• poliovirus

Medical Definition

hantavirus

noun

han·​ta·​vi·​rus ˈhan-tə-ˌvī-rəs  ˈhən-  ˈhän- 

: any of a family (Hantaviridae and especially genus Orthohantavirus) of bunyaviruses 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