Strategy for efficient detection of respiratory viruses in pediatric clinical specimens.

Direct immunofluorescence (IF) with a polyclonal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-specific antibody preparation was used for antigen detection during the 1982-1983 RSV season (155 specimens) and gave an overall sensitivity of 94% with 87% specificity compared with viral culture. Indirect IF was used in the 1983-1984 season (265 specimens) and exhibited sensitivity of 96% with specificity of 79%. During these two seasons, 42 of 224 (18.

Enhanced isolation of respiratory syncytial virus in cell culture.

During two winter seasons, we found that the combination of WI-38 or MRC-5 human lung fibroblasts plus primary rhesus monkey kidney (RhMK) and HEp-2 cell cultures yielded maximal isolation of respiratory syncytial virus. Cytopathic effects (CPE) developed earliest in RhMK cells and slowest in the human fibroblast lines. In RhMK cells, 50% of ultimately positive cultures showed CPE in 5 days, and 90% of positive cultures showed CPE within 7 days during both respiratory syncytial virus seasons.

Problems associated with the use of (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine for typing herpes simplex virus.

When 0.5 microgram of (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (BVdU) per ml was incorporated directly into cell culture medium inoculated with eight known positive specimens, one herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) isolate grew in the presence of BVdU and was misidentified. By plaque assay, the titers of 15 HSV-1 strains were reduced by more than 3 log10 by BVdU, and the titers of 16 HSV-2 strains were reduced by less than 2 log10.