Rapid diagnosis of viral infections with fluorescent antisera

Viral immunofluorescence tests were performed with commercial antisera on 1046 specimens of respiratory, conjunctival corneal and dermal origin to compare the diagnostic effectiveness of direct examination by immunofluorescence with culture. The fluorescence assays were found to be highly sensitive for respiratory syncytial and measles virus in nasopharyngeal aspirates from children, but less satisfactory for other respiratory viruses. The test detected 38% of the adenovirus positives from conjunctival specimens and 67% of the combined herpes simplex virus positives from the latter 3 groups. Despite the reduced sensitivity of fluorescence for some viruses, a case is presented for more widespread use of fluorescence in routine microbiology laboratories because of its simplicity, speed and cost-effectiveness compared with culture which is labour-intensive and time consuming.