title: Comparison of standard tissue culture, tissue culture plus staining, and direct staining for detection of genital herpes simplex virus infection.
abstract: Genital herpes simplex virus infection in women was studied by using conventional tissue culture (TC) virus isolation compared with short-term (24-h) TC on Lab-Tek chamber slides followed by fluorescent-antibody (FA) staining. Three different staining techniques were used after TC: (i) staining with biotin-avidin (TC-BA/FA), (ii) direct FA (TC-FA), and (iii) indirect FA. The TC-BA/FA method showed complete correlation with the TC method. The TC-FA method showed no false-positive results but 31.5% false-negative results compared with the TC method. In contrast, the TC-indirect FA method showed 11.9% false-positive results and 11.7% false-negative results. The direct staining of specimens by the biotin-avidin technique (direct BA/FA) without prior tissue culture showed 37.7% false-positive results and 11.1% false-negative results. The TC-BA/FA technique thus was as sensitive as, but more rapid than, the TC method. The quality of fluorescence was far superior in TC-BA/FA staining as compared with TC-FA or TC-indirect FA procedures. The TC-BA/FA appears to be a valuable technique in laboratory diagnosis of genital herpes infections, especially in clinical situations requiring rapid detection of the virus.
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003588:Cytopathogenic Effect, Viral; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006558:Herpes Genitalis / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000382:microbiology; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013194:Staining and Labeling