viræmia Med.
(vaɪˈriːmɪə)
Also (U.S.) viremia.
[f. virus + -æmia, after anæmia, leukæmia, etc.]
The condition in which viruses are present in the bloodstream. Hence viˈræmic a.
| 1947 Dorland & Miller Med. Dict. (ed. 21) 1619/1 Viremia. 1954 Jrnl. Pediatrics XLIV. 20/1 Little is known about the presence of viremia during the course of the disease [sc. poliomyelitis] in man. Ibid. 25/2 The infectious process is now almost generally regarded as one which begins with a viremic stage. 1964 M. Hynes Med. Bacteriol. (ed. 8) xxv. 383 Infection with poliovirus leads first to proliferation in the intestinal mucosa. A viraemia follows and it is probably thus that the virus usually reaches the central nervous system. 1977 Lancet 23 Apr. 884/1 The possibility that this illness is a consequence of early viræmia should not be overlooked. 1979 Nature 17 May 200/2 Chickens, mice or cats neonatally infected with oncornaviruses become viraemic, develop low or no anti-tumour immunity and usually succumb to their tumours. |