Definition of "poliovirus" [poliovirus]

• An enterovirus, separable into three serotypes, that is the causative agent of poliomyelitis. (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.

• "The WHO wants to eradicate poliovirus from the wild, but anyone with a bachelor's degree in molecular biology, a bit of money, and some time would be able to rebuild it from scratch."
• "Burnet isolated a strain of poliovirus from a case which he showed was serologically unrelated to the Flexner strain; this was the first indication that there was more than one serotype of poliovirus."
• "RNA viruses such as poliovirus have high mutation rates, and a diverse virus population is required for full virulence."