West Nile virus

noun

, Pathology.

1. an illness caused by a chiefly mosquito-borne virus of the genus Flavivirus, characterized in a small percentage of infected persons by fever, headache, muscle weakness, and sometimes encephalitis or meningitis.
2. the virus that causes this illness.

West Nile virus

/ wĕstnīl /

1. An infectious disease caused by a virus of the genus Flavivirus, occurring in Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean, and parts of North America. The infection is transmitted by a mosquito and can cause mild illness as well as severe, sometimes fatal encephalitis and meningitis.

Word History and Origins

Origin of West Nile virus¹

First recorded in 1935–40; named after the West Nile region of Uganda