paramyxovirus

noun

para·​myxo·​vi·​rus ˌper-ə-ˈmik-sə-ˌvī-rəs 

ˌpa-rə-

plural paramyxoviruses

: any of a family (Paramyxoviridae) of single-stranded RNA viruses that include the parainfluenza viruses and the causative agents of canine distemper, measles, mumps, Newcastle disease, and rinderpest

Note: Respiratory syncytial virus and metapneumovirus were formerly identified as paramyxoviruses but are now classified as pneumoviruses.

Examples of paramyxovirus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Bay Area residents should keep their pets away from wildlife, officials said, as the disease can spread through dogs unvaccinated against the paramyxovirus that causes it. —Kellie Hwang, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Mar. 2022

But tests for everything from adenoviruses to paramyxoviruses came back negative. —Kai Kupferschmidt, Science | AAAS, 28 Apr. 2020

In one such study, his team discovered that mumps, which like measles is caused by a paramyxovirus, had jumped to humans from bats. —Kai Kupferschmidt, Science | AAAS, 28 Apr. 2020

Wild animals could be used as bioterrorist weapons to spread infectious diseases such as monkeypox, which can be fatal for humans, or avian paramyxovirus, a disease carried by exotic birds that can spread to poultry. —National Geographic, 26 Feb. 2016

Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

paramyxovirus

noun

para·​myxo·​vi·​rus ˌpar-ə-ˈmik-sə-ˌvī-rəs 

: any of the family Paramyxoviridae of single-stranded RNA viruses that include the parainfluenza viruses and the causative agents of canine distemper, measles, mumps, Newcastle disease, and rinderpest

Note: Respiratory syncytial virus and metapneumovirus were formerly identified as paramyxoviruses but are now classified as pneumoviruses.