AIDS virus

[eydz vahy-ruhs]

noun

1. 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.