slow virus

1. 1.

   a virus that remains dormant in the body for a long time before symptoms appear

   “kuru is caused by a slow virus”

   Broadervirus

Questions about slow virus

What does slow virus mean?

slow virus means "a virus that remains dormant in the body for a long time before symptoms appear".

Is slow virus a common word?

slow virus is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.