FIG. 4.
Kinetics of replication of rHMPV and the ΔSH/G-FWT and ΔSH/G-FAMPV-A mutants in the upper and lower respiratory tracts of African green monkeys. Two animals (rHMPV group) or four animals (ΔSH/G-FWT and ΔSH/G-FAMPV-A groups) were each inoculated on day 0 by the combined intranasal and intratracheal routes with a 1-ml inoculum per site containing 106 PFU of the indicated virus. Results from 10 additional animals that were inoculated with rHMPV under identical conditions in previous experiments were included. The nasopharyngeal swab (A) and tracheal lavage (B) specimens were taken on the indicated days, and the titers of shed virus were quantified by plaque assay. The detection limit was 0.7 log10 PFU/ml.