Laboratory diagnosis of herpes zoster

Virological diagnosis of tester should be rapid when effective antiviral ch emotherapy is being considered. In the present study, vesicle specimens of 100 patients with tester were analysed by detecting viral DNA using polymer ase chain reaction (PCR). The findings were compared with those obtained by traditional virological and serological methods. PCR results confirmed the clinical diagnosis of tester in 95%. Primers selected from varicella-zoste r virus (VZV) gene 28 proved to be most sensitive. The sensitivity of virus culture was 20% (specificity 100%), of direct immunofluorescent VZV-specif ic antigen staining in vesicle samples 82% (specificity 76%), and in 48% th ere was a serological response to specific IgM and IgA antibodies within 4 days after the onset of rash. These findings suggest that: PCR is the metho d of choice for rapid laboratory diagnosis of tester. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.