a, Criteria for prolonged and transient cbDVG detection. For the Prolonged group, cbDVGs had to be detected on at least 2 days and still be present beyond 6 d.p.i. The rest of the volunteers were considered part of the Transient group. The purple dashed line indicates the division between the Transient and Prolonged groups. b,c, Total viral load (b) and viral load over time (c) were compared between the Transient (n = 14) and Prolonged (n = 4) groups. d,e, Total disease severity score (d) and disease severity score over time (e) were compared between the Transient (n = 14) and Prolonged (n = 4) groups. f, The best-fit curves for the kinetics of disease severity score from the negative (n = 38), Transient (n = 14) and Prolonged (n = 4) groups were calculated and compared using a nonlinear Gaussian model. The best-fit values for amplitude of all three curves are shown. g,h Scattered dot plots showing (g) expression of IFNL1 and ISGs and (h) representative pro-inflammatory cytokines from the Transient (n = 10) and the Prolonged (n = 3) groups. Data are shown as mean ± s.e.m. Significant P values for two-tailed Mann–Whitney test (b,d,g,h) and two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post-hoc test (c,e) are indicated for Transient versus Prolonged groups.