[Management of mucocutaneous herpes simplex virus infections in immunocompetent patients: signification and limits of antigen detection culture methods and antibody detection].

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are very common and may present various manifestations. Mostly asymptomatic, often mild, these infections may become life-threatening, specially in neonates. The acute and rapid diagnosis of HSV infections can prevent infections in these patients and is also helpful to confirm clinical diagnosis. The sensitivity of "classical" diagnosis methods, such as culture and antigen detection by immunofluorescence and ELISA, is highly dependent on the quality of the sample. Antigen detection techniques give results in short delays, compatible with the initiation of antiviral treatment; however their sensitivity decreases when lesions get older and they are not convenient for the diagnosis of asymptomatic infections. Isolation of HSV on cell culture remains the gold standard, because it is easy to perform and exhibits good sensitivity whatever the stage of the lesions; the isolation of the virus is required for HSV typing and to determine susceptibility to antiviral agents in case of clinical resistance to the treatment. Serodiagnosis is helpful to determine the immune status of a patient and to distinguish between primary infection and recurrence. It is now possible to differentiate HSV1 and HSV2 antibodies; the benefit of type-specific serology is clear for epidemiological surveys but may be discussed for individual follow-up, specially for genital herpes, both for the diagnosis and the prevention of HSV infections.