Definition of "neuraminidase" []

• A hydrolytic enzyme that removes sialic acid from mucoproteins and is found chiefly in microorganisms of the respiratory and intestinal tracts. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Research suggests neuraminidase, which is a substance needed by the H5N1 virus to reproduce, may be inhibited."
• "Oseltamivir is known as a neuraminidase inhibitor that does not actually kill swine flu or other influenza viruses directly."
• "According to various expert epidemiological sources, strains of influenza are becoming progressively resistant to currently available commercial antiviral drugs (including so-called neuraminidase inhibitors) and death rates are expected to increase globally without the development of new effective treatment strategies."