Bunyaviruses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of RNA viruses belonging to the family characterized by their segmented genomes and ability to infect animals and plants, causing diseases transmitted often by arthropod vectors or rodents
2. Viruses classified within a family of negative-sense RNA viruses that have segmented genomes and primarily infect vertebrates and invertebrates, commonly spread through insects or rodent carriers
3. Infectious agents of the family that possess segmented genomes made of single-stranded RNA, known for transmission through arthropods or rodents and responsible for various animal and human illnesses

Etymology: "Bunyaviruses" is the plural of "bunyavirus", and the family takes its name from a place rather than from any Latin or Greek root. Bunyamwera is a town in western Uganda, and the first virus of this group was isolated there. Scientists naming the new family took the town's name and attached the standard "-virus" ending, so the word works much like naming a disease after the place where it was first found. The word therefore records a single geographic discovery: the town stands in for the whole family of viruses, which share the segmented single-stranded RNA genome described above. Because the name points to one location rather than to a description of what the viruses do, it tells you nothing about their transmission or effects, and it is a purely local label that became a technical term.

Synonyms: bunyavirus, arbovirus, virus