Molecular techniques should now replace cell culture in diagnostic virology laboratories.

Cell cultures have been important historically for the development of virology. However, I will argue that they are no longer essential for a diagnostic laboratory and should be replaced with nucleic acid detection methods. This change of technology should be cost-neutral once the full costs to the laboratory of cell cultures, including staff time, are calculated. Molecular methods are more sensitive than cell cultures and provide answers much more rapidly, especially for negative samples. Since negative results are frequently as important to our clinical colleagues as positive results, we should change now to routine diagnostic services based upon nucleic acid detection. Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.