Eight weeks post diet shift, latently infected mice on the HF diet (HSV-HF) had greater microglial activation and infiltration of inflam- matory CCR2+ monocytes in the hypothalamus and dentate gyrus, in comparison to both HSV-LF mice and uninfected mice on LF and HF diets. VCAM staining was present in hypothalamus and hippocampus of the HSV-HF mice in the areas of monocyte infiltration.