myxomatosis

noun

myx·​o·​ma·​to·​sis mik-ˌsō-mə-ˈtō-səs 

: a condition characterized by the presence of myxomas in the body

specifically : a severe virus disease of rabbits that is caused by a poxvirus (species Myxoma virus of the genus Leporipoxvirus) and transmitted by mosquitoes, biting flies, and direct contact and that has been used in the biological control of rabbits especially in Australia

Examples of myxomatosis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When Britain's rabbits died of myxomatosis in the 1950s and farmers simultaneously stopped grazing cattle, the grass got longer, the ground got cooler, the ants left, and the butterflies became endangered. —Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010

The first virus ever deliberately used to eradicate a wild-animal population was myxoma virus, which causes myxomatosis, a disease fatal to domestic rabbits. —Susan Orlean, The New Yorker, 29 June 2020

Eventually, a myxomatosis vaccine was developed, and the disease was more or less brought under control. —Susan Orlean, The New Yorker, 29 June 2020

These rabbits never develop the skin tumors or any of the classic symptoms of myxomatosis. —Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2017

Word History

Etymology

myxomat-, Greco-Latin stem of myxoma + -osis, as translation of German Myxomkrankheit

First Known Use

1927, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

myxomatosis

noun

myx·​o·​ma·​to·​sis mik-ˌsō-mə-ˈtō-səs 

plural myxomatoses -ˌsēz 

: a condition characterized by the presence of myxomas in the body

specifically : a severe virus disease of rabbits that is caused by a poxvirus (species Myxoma virus of the genus Leporipoxvirus), is transmitted by mosquitoes, biting flies, and direct contact, and has been used in the biological control of wild rabbit populations