Most people don't know they have it because the disease can lie dormant for decades.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Indeed, explicit in their worship of demand above everything else is that money saved will lie dormant.

FORBES: Monetarism and Keynesianism: Identical Sides of the Same Adolescent Coin

Tuberculosis can lie dormant in a person for years and then strike when the immune system is weak.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Breathalyser detects tuberculosis

Lupus can lie dormant for long periods of time--the idea was that Benlysta only works if the immune system is actively attacking the body.

FORBES: Health Care

CommWarrior has been seen in the wild sporadically since the beginning of the year, but contains a sleep function that allows it to lie dormant for an undetermined period of time, which explains why it hasn't yet hit peak distribution.

ENGADGET: CommWarrior cellphone virus smolders, somewhere