Clinical latency is the state, or time period, in which an
infectious agent produces no clinical symptoms in a host. This is particularly notable with
viruses and
bacterium with long periods of latency such as
HIV and
syphilis. Latency is not equivalent to
dormancy. For example, although HIV-positive patients usually exhibit little evidence of illness early in the
disease, HIV is active in the
lymphatic system accumulating a large
viral load. The study of clinical latency is central to the understanding and treatment of many illnesses.
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