myxoma virus
Pathology and Veterinary Med.
noun
The poxvirus (genus Leporipoxvirus) that is the cause of myxomatosis in the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus).
- The natural hosts are certain American rabbits of the genus Sylvilagus, in which the virus causes a mild disease with localized tumours..
Origin
1930s; earliest use found in Journal of Experimental Medicine.