n.
Pronunciation: ' hän-t ə - ˌ v ī -r ə s, ' h ə n-, ' han-
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, from hanta- (fr. Hantaan, river in South Korea near where rodents carrying the virus were collected 1974-78) + virus
Date: 1984
: any of a genus ( Hantavirus of the family Bunyaviridae ) of single-stranded RNA viruses transmitted especially by rodent feces and urine and including viruses causing serious pulmonary disease or hemorrhagic fevers marked by renal necrosis