The NYT article describes how malaria can silently hibernate inside cells during the dry season, and erupt when provoked by a new malaria infection during the rainy season. Similarly, acute infection with intracellular pathogens can become a chronic infection, which hides silently and evades detection by the immune system for years or decades. An acute infection in addition to a chronic infection can become a more severe acute infection, trigger adverse events, or trigger the eruption of chronic disease. For instance, influenza, covid-19, and recurrent chlamydia pneumonia can trigger cardiovascular events in the ensuing months. Chronic infection induces a cascade of innate responses, which cause chronic disease to evolve over time.  Multiple chronic infections can trigger adverse events and/or accelerate development of chronic disease.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/26/health/malaria-parasites-genetics.html