More rapid isolation of herpes simplex virus in a continuous line of mink lung cells than in Vero or human fibroblast cells.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) was isolated from clinical specimens more rapidly in mink lung (ML) cells, a continuous cell line available from a commercial supplier, than in Vero cells or human fibroblast (HF) cells. Stock strains of HSV type 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2 titered higher in ML cells than in Vero or HF cells. ML cells were equivalent to rabbit kidney (RK) cells in the isolation of HSV in clinical specimens, but titers of stock HSV strains were lower. ML cells could be employed to type strains of HSV-1 and HSV-2, using the technique of differential susceptibility to bromovinyldeoxyuridine (BVDU). ML cells, therefore, are a convenient and useful cell line for the isolation and typing of HSV in diagnostic virology laboratories.