general or unspecified; prefer specific taxonomic group or genus; do not confuse "slow viruses" with VIRUS LATENCY: slow cause disease with very long preclinical course & very slow progression, VIRUS LATENCY is the ability of a virus to lie dormant in a cell; presence of viruses in blood = VIREMIA; many pre-coordinated viral terms are available such as VIRAL PROTEINS; RNA, VIRAL, etc.; policy: Manual 22.18, 22.24+
Scope Note
Minute infectious agents whose genomes are composed of DNA or RNA, but not both. They are characterized by a lack of independent metabolism and the inability to replicate outside living host cells.
Minute infectious agents whose genomes are composed of DNA or RNA, but not both. They are characterized by a lack of independent metabolism and the inability to replicate outside living host cells.
