Saint Louis encephalitis

noun

Saint Lou·​is encephalitis -ˈlü-əs- 

variants or St. Louis encephalitis

: a North American encephalitis that is caused by a flavivirus (species St. Louis encephalitis virus of the genus Flavivirus) transmitted by several culex mosquitoes

Examples of Saint Louis encephalitis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Initial tests pointed to a viral disease called Saint Louis encephalitis, but later tests failed to match the results. —Carl Zimmer, Discover Magazine, 17 Aug. 2012

The southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus), a carrier of West Nile and Saint Louis encephalitis viruses, can also transmit Oropouche, though not very efficiently, and its range throughout the tropics raises the possibility of Oropouche outbreaks in Africa, southeast Asia, and Australia. —Daniel Grossman, Science | AAAS, 29 Apr. 2021

On September 22, the CDC researchers were stunned to find that the birds were not killed by Saint Louis encephalitis. —Carl Zimmer, Discover Magazine, 17 Aug. 2012

Word History

Etymology

St. Louis, Missouri

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

Saint Louis encephalitis

noun

Saint Lou·​is encephalitis -ˌlü-əs- 

: a North American encephalitis that is caused by a single-stranded RNA virus of the genus Flavivirus (species Saint Louis encephalitis virus) transmitted by several mosquitoes of the genus Culex