Viral latency is a state in which a virus remains dormant within host cells without active replication. This allows the virus to persist in the host over long periods without causing symptoms or triggering an immediate immune response. During latency, viral genomes are maintained but not expressed, enabling the virus to evade detection and clearance by the immune system. This characteristic is critical for viruses like herpes simplex and varicella-zoster, which can reactivate later, causing disease recurrence. Thus, the significance of viral latency lies in its role in long-term viral persistence without active disease manifestation.

Reference: Medical Microbiology, Murray et al., 9th Edition.