simian virus 40


sim·i·an vac·u·o·lat·ing vi·rus No. 40 (SV40),

a small (40-45 nm) DNA virus of the genus Polyomavirus, family Papovaviridae; the cause of seemingly inapparent infections in monkeys, especially rhesus, and a common contaminant of monkey cell cultures; the virus may cause inapparent infection in humans and may be excreted in stools of children for several weeks; it can produce fibrosarcoma in suckling hamsters, and transformation may occur in human diploid cells; it may also form "hybrid" virus in cells also infected with certain adenoviruses. Synonym(s): simian virus 40