Marek's disease
/ˈmarɛks
/noun [mass noun]
An infectious disease of poultry caused by a herpesvirus, which attacks nerves and causes paralysis or initiates widespread tumour formation.ARS researchers discovered that a herpes virus caused Marek's disease in poultry....
- In an advance that could usher in new vaccines for protecting poultry, Agricultural Research Service scientists have sequenced the genetic code of the chicken herpesvirus that causes Marek's disease.
- ‘The final step, after the maps are made and all the genes are sequenced, is to identify genes that influence the trait you're looking for - in this case resistance to Marek's disease,’ says Cheng.
Origin
1960s: named after Josef Marek (1868–1952), Hungarian veterinary surgeon.