Rapid assay of herpes simplex virus sensitivity to drugs.

A 16 h immunofluorescence microplaque reduction assay for herpes simplex virus (HSV) was compared with a plaque reduction assay to assess its feasibility as a rapid technique for determining viral sensitivity to drugs. A drug-sensitive HSV strain (HSV-1 Patton) and a drug resistant strain (HSV-1-P-ACG-R), both grown in cell cultures, were compared against serial dilutions of adenine arabinoside (Ara-A) and acycloguanosine (ACG). Similar studies were done with virus obtained directly from experimentally infected rabbit corneas. The microplaque assay yielded results similar to the plaque assay and has the advantage of speed, which may be useful in clinical situations.