Laboratory diagnosis of viral diseases-fact, fiction and clinical relevance

ABSTRACT

After many years of limited use, diagnostic virology has entered the main stream of clinical medicine. Recent developments in tissue transplantation, cancer chemotherapy, and the development of antiviral therapy have greatly augmented the need for rapid and accurate diagnosis of viral infection. Many health care professionals lack clear understanding of the utilization of viral diagnostic facilities as well the methodology used in analysing clinical specimens. This article will give an overview of clinical situations where viral diagnosis is useful, then discuss a number of misconceptions by attending physicians that often preclude viral diagnostic studies. It will then review current methods available for recognition of virus in clinical specimens with emphasis on rapid viral diagnostic tests and their clinical relevance