Marek

/məˈrɛk/ noun

Definition

Marek's disease, a highly contagious viral infection that affects chickens and other poultry, or a given name of Slavic origin.

Etymology

If referring to the disease, it's named after József Marek, a Hungarian veterinarian who first described it in 1907. If a given name, it comes from Slavic roots related to Mars and means 'warlike' or 'of Mars.'

Kelly Says

Marek's disease vaccine was the first cancer vaccine in history—it targeted a virus that causes tumors in birds—and it paved the way for human cancer vaccines like the HPV vaccine we use today.

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