Rapid culture confirmation of herpes simplex virus by a monoclonal antibody-based enzyme immunoassay

Abstract

Rapid confirmation of herpes simplex virus (HSV) is essential in many clinical settings. Viral isolation in cell culture is the standard method for diagnosing HSV infection, with confirmation by specific immunological staining. The performance of the Rapid t Matrix Pad (RAMP) HSV culture confirmation test was evaluated with specimens obtained from 71 patients with suspected HSV infection and inoculated into African green monkey kidney cell lines. Forty-one culture-positive specimens were confirmed by the HSV by both the RAMP HSV test and Bartels HSV immunoperoxidase test. Thirty immunoperoxidase-negative specimens were also negative in the RAMP HSV test. The sensitivity and spcificity of the RAMP HSV test were 100%. Twelve specimens positive for cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, or enterovirus tested negative by the RAMP HSV test. Thus, the RAMP HSV test was faster than, easier to perform than, as sensitive as, and as specific as other well-dominated confirmation methods.