2.6 Quantification of leukocytes carrying infectious virus
The number of leukocytes carrying the infectious virus was quantified by inoculating 2x105 leukocytes from peripheral blood onto cell cultures of human embryonic lung fibroblasts using the shell-vial technique. The number of fibroblast nuclei positive for the HCMV immediate-early antigen p72 was then counted 16 to 24 hours after infection [12]