ABSTRACT
The ability of a virus to persist in the host often determines the outcome of a virus infection. Long-term persistence of viruses results from two main mechanisms. The first is the regulation of viral lytic potential which can be accomplished by restricting virus gene expression (e.g., herpesviruses). The second mechanism is evasion of immune surveillance by using strategies such as integration of the viral genome or adoption of an episomal form, infection of immunologically inaccessible anatomic sites, production of antigenic variants, interference with T-cell recognition, and induction of tolerance.
