Abstract
Long-term inapparent infections were established in continuously grown uncloned Aëdes aegypti mosquito cells inoculated with Semliki Forest virus and incubated at 28°. This response of mosquito cells to infection, which contrasts with the outcome of infection by the same virus of mammalian cells at 37°, was due to a small proportion of virus-producing cells in the culture, and a low yield of virus per infected cell.
The percentage of virus-producing cells was between 2.8 and 8% at the height of infection, and between 0.01 and 0.09% at the lowest level of infection. The yield of virus per infected cell was estimated to be between 1 and 6 p.f.u.