Subclinical herpes virus reactivation and latency

Although there has been considerable refinement in our understanding of the processes underlying the establishment and maintenance of latency, important research questions remain. Results from various workers imply that the establishment of latency may be a dynamic process and may offer possible therapeutic targets. The role played by the latency-associated transcripts appear to be important in both establishing latency and in aiding reactivation. Recent work has shown that reactivation in vivo is much more frequent than previously thought and leads principally to subclinical viral shedding. Factors influencing subclinical shedding for most patient groups and the response and limitation of therapy have been clearly determined.