Rapid diagnosis of genital herpes by detecting cells infected with virus in smears with fluorescent monoclonal antibodies

Rapid diagnosis of cutaneous herpes simplex infections using specific monoclonal antibodies

One hundred children with suspected herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection and 20 controls were studied to compare a rapid immunofluorescence (RIF) test for detection and typing of HSV from smears of lesions with standard viral culture. The RIF test was evaluated for ease of use and speed of diagnosis. RIF and/or culture were positive in 64% of patients. All infections diagnosed by RIF and culture were HSV type 1. In 92% of patients RIF and culture results were in concordance. In 57 cases, RIF and cultures were positive for HSV infection and in 35 cases RIF and cultures were negative for HSV infection. Three patients had inadequate samples for RIF and five children had positive RIF but were culture negative. All controls had negative results both by RIF test and culture. The RIF test demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 95% specificity. The RIF test was type specific, easy to perform and gave diagnosis of HSV infections within an hour of taking the clinical specimen. This study suggests the RIF test is as good, if not more sensitive, in the diagnosis of HSV infections as standard viral culture and has the advantage of speed of diagnosis.

Rapid detection of Haemophilus ducreyi in clinical and experimental infections using monoclonal antibody: a preliminary evaluation

A monoclonal antibody raised against Haemophilus ducreyi was tested for its sensitivity and specificity as an immunofluorescence (IF) reagent using simulated vaginal smears containing H. ducreyi, smears taken from skin lesions of mice infected with H. ducreyi and patients from South Africa, Thailand and Malaysia with clinically diagnosed chancroid. The IF test was more sensitive than culture or Gram staining in the simulated smears, theoretically detecting less than 4 organisms/sample. It detected H. ducreyi in 95% of the animal lesions compared with 14% detected by culture. Immunofluorescence testing identified over 90% of culture-positive cases of chancroid but also detected organisms in some culture-negative cases where clinical evidence for the diagnosis was strong. These results suggest that this antibody may provide a simple, rapid and sensitive means of detecting H. ducreyi in cases of chancroid.