Definition

Noun: 1. A family of viruses: A taxonomic family of viruses characterized by their filamentous (thread-like) shape. They are RNA viruses, meaning their genetic material is ribonucleic acid. 2. Pathogenic agents: Viruses in this family are known to cause severe, often fatal, hemorrhagic fevers in humans and nonhuman primates such as monkeys and chimpanzees.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • Filoviridae is a family of viruses that includes Ebola and Marburg.
  • The Filoviridae are among the most dangerous pathogens known to science.
  • Research into Filoviridae requires the highest level of biocontainment.

Advanced Usage

• Scientific context: The term is used almost exclusively in virology, medicine, and public health discussions concerning viral classification and emerging infectious diseases.
  • The genomic structure of the Filoviridae is unique among negative-sense RNA viruses.

Variants and Related Words

• Filovirus (n): Any virus belonging to the family . This is the more common term for the individual viruses themselves.
  • Ebola virus is a filovirus.
• Filoviral (adj): Relating to or caused by filoviruses.
  • Filoviral hemorrhagic fever has a high mortality rate.

Synonyms

• Thread-like RNA viruses (descriptive synonym)
• Hemorrhagic fever viruses (functional synonym based on the disease they cause)

Related Phrases

• Filovirus disease: An illness caused by a member of the family.
  • Outbreak control is critical for managing filovirus disease.
• Filovirus outbreak: The occurrence of cases of a filovirus disease above what is normally expected.
  • International teams were deployed to contain the filovirus outbreak.

Noun

1. a family of threadlike RNA viruses that cause diseases in humans and nonhuman primates (monkeys and chimpanzees)