slow infection

A "slow virus" is an infectious agent, now often considered a prion, that has a long incubation period between infection and the appearance of disease symptoms. Some viruses cause acute diseases but can remain dormant in tissues for extended periods, reactivating later to cause serious illness decades after the initial infection. Slowly progressive viruses are characterized by these extended incubation periods before disease onset. The nature of the disease is influenced by both the virus and host cells, with many viruses capable of latency, or dormancy, within the host. This latency can be triggered by various factors, leading to reactivation and disease.123