Lentivirus
Short description
Lentiviruses form a genus within the retrovirus family. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is one of the best-known examples.
Detailed description
The name lentiviruses is derived from the Latin word "lentus" = slowly: many lentiviruses trigger slowly progressing, chronic degenerative diseases. They remain in the hosts for their entire life because they can bypass the defense mechanisms of the immune system. A special characteristic of lentiviruses is that they can overcome the nuclear envelope and thus infect resting cells that are not dividing. Lentiviruses are very species-specific. For example, the HI virus only infects humans and the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) only infects cats.