Question

10. How do latent viruses, like the herpes virus, utilize the link between our stress-response and immune system to survive?

Answer 1

Answer:

Latent infection is when a virus remains in equilibrium with the host and not actually produce disease for a long period.

Chronic stress results in immune suppression, which manifests as increased susceptibility to upper respiratory infections and reactivation of latent viral infections.

Viral infections are cleared from the body by an immune response called cell-mediated immunity, which is carried out by two distinct types of lymphocytes: natural killer (NK) cells and T cells, both of which kill virally infected cells.

Using human stress models, researchers have discovered that psychological stress is correlated with the suppression of cell-mediated immunity, which likely explains why viral infections are more prevalent during periods of prolonged stress.

Herpes viruses in particular reactivate more frequently in stressed individuals. In healthy individuals, these viruses are rarely very harmful. However, herpes viruses are never fully cleared from the body. Instead, they go into a latent state in which the virus is maintained silently throughout the life of the host. During periods of immune suppression, these latent viruses can reactivate, which sometimes results in clinically serious diseases.