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We propose the <jats:italic>immunosensor hypothesis<\/jats:italic>, in which VZV latency within sensory ganglia contributes to host immune surveillance while simultaneously ensuring viral persistence. Using a game-theoretical framework, we conceptualize this interaction as a temporally partitioned evolutionarily stable strategy (TP-ESS). In this model, VZV progresses through three sequential phases across the host lifespan: (i) aggressive replication and transmission during primary infection, (ii) immunomodulatory latency during immune competence, and (iii) reactivation during immune decline. Each phase represents a dynamic equilibrium shaped by host immunity and viral life-history trade-offs. The TP-ESS framework integrates viral ecology, innate immunity, and neurovirology into a unified model of latency and reactivation, providing a conceptual basis for epidemiological patterns of herpes zoster and generating testable predictions on immunity-dependent viral behavior and host\u2013virus coadaptation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2025.1682707","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,2]],"date-time":"2025-10-02T05:30:50Z","timestamp":1759383050000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Strategic latency with temporal mutualism: a coevolutionary model of the host\u2013varicella-zoster virus 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