Developments in rapid viral diagnosis.

Rapid viral diagnosis is becoming an integral part of modern medical practice. Although advances in our understanding of viral diseases and in technical developments have encouraged this change in status, progress in antiviral chemotherapy is the major impetus to advances and acceptance of rapid viral diagnosis. Lab tests cannot substitute for the clinical acumen of the physician or the proper collection and delivery of the patient specimen. For most viral diseases, advances have been made in improved rapid virus isolation techniques, better and more widely available immunofluorescence, and immunoenzyme microscopic techniques, with much of the improvement provided by monoclonal antibodies. Enzyme immunoassays for antigen detection are becoming increasingly available, many commercially, and several have been accepted as standard diagnostic methods. Newer techniques, such as latex agglutination-improved enzyme immunoassays and the use of nucleic acid hybridization are under active investigation.