Effect of high-speed rolling on herpes simplex virus detection and replication.

We examined the effect of high-speed rolling on herpes simplex virus replication. Inoculated cultures were rolled at 2, 96, or 383 rpm, while stationary cultures served as controls. At 24 h, inoculated cultures rolled at 96 rpm had a 6.8-fold increase in foci when compared with stationary cultures (P less than 0.01) and a 2.8-fold increase over cultures rolled at 2 rpm (P less than 0.05). Cultures rolled at 2 rpm had a 2.4-fold increase in foci over stationary cultures (P less than 0.05). Viral yield results correlated with focus results. Significantly more virus was present in cultures rolled at 96 rpm (7.3-fold) than in stationary cultures. Cultures rolled at 2 rpm produced 2.9-fold more virus than stationary cultures (P less than 0.05). Of 37 cultures rolled at 96 rpm, 33 (89%) were cytopathic effect positive at 96 h, while 18 of 40 (45%) were positive at 2 rpm and only 2 of 37 (5%) were positive for stationary cultures (P less than 0.01). Cultures rolled at 96 rpm produced maximum viral yields 2 days sooner than stationary cultures. Rolling of inoculated cultures should be used in the clinical laboratory to aid in the rapid detection of herpes simplex virus.