Most people have been infected with some form of the viruses. The mere mention of the word ‘herpes’ usually conjures negative images and stereotypes. Almost all people are infected by one or more ‘herpes’ family viruses during their lifetime. The potential impact of these findings is significant. For most people, a sore appears, heals and is forgotten, though the virus is still present in the body. The virus remains latent just waiting for the right circumstances to come back. Now, the mystery behind what triggers the virus to become active again is closer to being solved
The immune system loses its control over the virus when facing new microbial threats, when it must fend off other viral invaders or bacteria. By understanding how these latent viral infections are controlled, we can prevent reactivation events and improve our lives.
Finding ways to control herpes flare ups is important, not only for the health of the person with the virus, but also for preventing its transmission. This report highlights the important interplay when we are ‘co-infected’ with more than one microbe and provides important insights into why the immune system sometimes fails as well as how it can regain control of latent herpes virus infections.”
To make this discovery, researchers studied mice with latent herpes family cytomegalovirus (CMV) during severe bacterial infections. They found that T-cells responsible for CMV control were reduced significantly during a new infection with bacteria. This, in effect, reduced the “brakes” which kept the virus under control, allowing the virus to reactivate and cause disease. When the immune system eventually sensed the reactivation, the memory T-cell levels returned to normal, effectively restoring the body’s control over the virus.