Differentiate between persistent and latent animal virus infections. differentiate between persistent and latent animal virus infections. in a latent infection, the host cell is continually releasing new viral particles slowly. in a persistent infection, there are periods of time where the virus is not replicating and creating new viral particles.
I think the difference is that the persistent viral infections happen gradually over a long period of time, while the latent viral infections occur such that the virus remains in equilibrium with the host and not necessarily produce a disease for a long period of time.
