arbovirus

/ahr"beuh vuy'reuhs/, n., pl. arboviruses.

any of several groups of RNA-containing viruses that are transmitted by bloodsucking arthropods, as ticks, fleas, or mosquitoes, and may cause encephalitis, yellow fever, or dengue fever.

[1955-60; ar(thropod-) bo(rne) virus]

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Any of a large group of viruses that develop in arthropods (chiefly mosquitoes and ticks).

The name derives from "arthropod-borne virus." The spheroidal virus particle is encased in a fatty membrane and contains RNA; it causes no apparent harm to the arthropod host. Arboviruses are transmitted by bites to vertebrate hosts, in which they establish infections and complete their growth cycle; they include the agents responsible for yellow fever and equine encephalitis. See also togavirus.

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      acronym derived from arthropod-borne virus, a group of viruses that develop in arthropods (arthropod) (chiefly blood-sucking mosquitoes and ticks), in which they cause no apparent harm, and are subsequently transmitted by bites to vertebrate hosts, in which they establish infections and complete their growth cycle. The group includes the agents responsible for yellow fever, equine encephalitis, (equine encephalitis) dengue, West Nile virus, and louping ill (qq.v.). The spheroidal virus particle is enveloped in a fatty membrane, varies in size from 30 to 100 nm (1 nm = 10^-9 metre) across, and contains ribonucleic acid (RNA). Some regions of the tropics, locally rich in arboviruses, present a complicated picture of the ecological net of arthropod carrier, vertebrate host, and the environment.

      The arbovirus group is a diverse assemblage, the members of which are often assigned to viral families as they become better known, e.g., as togavirus (family Togaviridae) and rhabdovirus (family Rhabdoviridae).

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