The rationale for the use of diagnostic tests in herpes simplex virus infection.

All suspect herpes simplex lesions should be diagnosed by isolation methods where possible. Rapid tests ulitise antigen detection methods. The enzyme immunoassay method is the most sensitive of these, and the immunofluorescence method has the advantage of being able to type the virus, but has slightly lower sensitivity. Serological methods are only useful to exclude a herpes simplex infection in the past, and to establish a primary infection. They cannot be used to type an infection or give evidence of past infection to a particular type.