Immune control of HSV-1 latency

A hallmark of the herpes family of viruses is their ability to cause recurrent disease. Upon primary infection, Herpes Simplex virus (HSV) establishes a latent infection in sensory neurons that persists for the life of the individual. Reactivation of these latent viral genomes with virion formation is the source of virus for most HSV recurrent disease. This review details recent exciting findings supporting a role for the host immune system, particularly CD8+ T cells in maintaining HSV-1 in a latent state.