gamma-Herpesvirus-induced protection against bacterial infection is transient.

Herpesviruses are widely disseminated in the population and establish lifelong latency, which is associated with a variety of pathological consequences. A recent report showed that mice latently infected with either murine gamma-herpesvirus-68 (gammaHV68) or murine cytomegalovirus (mCMV), mouse pathogens genetically similar to the human herpesviruses, Epstein-Barr virus, Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, and cytomegalovirus, had enhanced resistance to subsequent bacterial infection, suggesting protective as well as deleterious effects of latency. Here we confirm that latent gammaHV68 infection confers protection against subsequent infection with Listeria monocytogenes. However, the effect is transient, lasting only a few months.