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Medical Definition of Antigenic shift
1. Mutation, i.e., sudden change in molecular structure of RNA/DNA in microorganisms, especially viruses, which produces new strains of the microorganism; hosts previously exposed to other strains have little or no acquired immunity to the new strain; antigenic shift is believed to be the explanation for the occurrence of strains of microorganisms, such as the influenza virus, associated with large scale epidemics. (05 Mar 2000)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Antigenic Shift
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