A passenger virus is a virus that is frequently found in samples from diseased tissue, such as tumours, but does not contribute to causing the disease.

Contents 1 Experimental demonstration of passenger status 2 Examples 3 References 4 See also

[edit] Experimental demonstration of passenger status

Proving that a virus has no causative role can be difficult. Although none of the following signs is definitive, evidence that a virus found in diseased tissue is a passenger rather than a causative agent includes:

• injection of the virus into healthy animals without causing disease;
• the absence of the virus at the earliest stages of the disease;
• curing the viral infection using antiviral drugs or vaccination with no effect on the course of the disease.

[edit] Examples

A well-established example is lactate dehydrogenase virus, which is often found in mouse tumours.^[1] Hepatitis G virus and Chandipura virus are possible examples in humans.^[2][3] The Duesberg hypothesis posits that HIV is a passenger virus in the etiology of AIDS.^[4]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Stealth-adapted virus

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