[brianleb]

Agree that it sounds 'close to correct.'

I think, though, that the underlying assumption is that the old virus hangs out, forever waiting for the moment to strike.

Cells senesce and die and get replaced, and the immune system is always active in the background. If the virus particles are released, the immune system is going after it and cleaning up. As essentially no new virus is being created, this is the body's opportunity to clear the virus at a slower, manageable pace where it doesn't have to contend with a rapid, expanding infection.

It feels like one of those ideas that's technically true in all the right ways, but misses one crucial piece that would make the whole thing accurate.

[amluto]

> Cells senesce and die and get replaced, and the immune system is always active in the background. If the virus particles are released, the immune system is going after it and cleaning up. As essentially no new virus is being created, this is the body's opportunity to clear the virus at a slower, manageable pace where it doesn't have to contend with a rapid, expanding infection.

If this really applied to HIV, then people with HIV who take effective antivirals for long enough would be cured. But they generally aren't.