Trojan horse effect
Epidemiology An unanticipated vector of an organism or potential route of disease transmission, such as Hagnaya wreathes, which transport ectoparasites, or used rubber tires that provide ideal breeding sites for the northern Asian mosquito, Aedes albopictus, a potential vector for Bunyaviridae and LaCrosse viruses
Infectious disease HIV can be regarded as a ‘Trojan horse’ type of infection—HIV binds to the CD4 receptor, enters the cell and integrates itself into the host genome as a provirus, thus remaining hidden from the immune system, similar to the Trojan horse; upon lysis of the CD4 receptor-positive cells—helper T cells—and macrophages, the virus is liberated and HIV-1 either re-enters the circulation or continues infecting other cells via the CD4 receptor