- AIDS virus
- noun
* * *
a variable retrovirus that invades and inactivates helper T cells of the immune system and is a cause of AIDS and AIDS-related complex: variants were identified in several laboratories and independently named lymphadenopathy-associated virus (LAV), human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 3 (HTLV-3), and AIDS-related virus (ARV), the name human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) being subsequently proposed by an international taxonomy committee.* * *
AIDS virus,the retrovirus that causes AIDS; HIV: »Because its genes are made up of RNA instead of the usual DNA, the AIDS virus is classified as a retrovirus (Donald P. Francis).
Useful english dictionary. 2012.