Viral and rickettsial diseases; laboratory methods in diagnosis

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF VIRAL DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES HAVE BEEN: (1) technical advances, and (2) increasing demand for services due to relative and actual increases in the prevalence of these illnesses. This increase has been both relative, as in the case of diphtheria, etc., and actual as in the cases of poliomyelitis. Technical advances have been numerous and frequent. One of the most spectacular has been the development of methods for the culture of living cells for the propagation of viruses. Emphasis must be placed on the fact that the diagnosis of many viral diseases requires close teamwork between local, state, federal, and privately supported agencies. Laboratory procedures remain expensive but are frequently the only way to determine the exact nature of a particular illness. The available or practical procedures are emphasized in this discussion.