1. the quality or state of being extremely virulent; exceptional ability of a pathogen to cause severe disease or rapid transmission
Usage: technical; medical/microbiology

Examples

• The hypervirulence of the new bacterial strain made it a serious public health concern.
• Researchers studied the hypervirulence of the pathogen to understand why it spread so rapidly.
• The hypervirulence of certain strains of Clostridioides difficile has led to increased hospital infections.
• Scientists attributed the hypervirulence to specific genetic mutations in the organism.
• The outbreak's severity was linked to the hypervirulence of the circulating virus variant.