Although diverse clones of IE1-specific CD8 T cells with varied memory functionality were observed in the IgG+IgM+/AI-low and IgG+IgM+/AI-high groups, IE1-specific T cells were rarely detected in the memory T cell pool during latent infection (IgG+IgM− phenotype). Here, CD8A is linked to disease arising from reactivation of latent virus.