poxvirus Microbiol.
(ˈpɒksvaɪərəs)
Also pox virus.
[mod.L., f. pox n. + virus.]
Any of a group of large DNA viruses that cause smallpox and various other epidermal diseases in vertebrates.
| 1941 Amer. Jrnl. Vet. Res. II. 102/1 There are many different strains of pox virus, some of them less pathogenic than others. 1962 [see arborvirus]. 1973 R. G. Krueger et al. Introd. Microbiol. xix. 522/1 Poxviruses propagate rapidly in a wide variety of mammalian and embryo tissues in vitro producing cytopathic effects in 24–48 hr. |