Specimen Requirements
Title
Culture, Herpes
Specimen Requirement
M4 Viral Transport Media (1.0 mL minimum)
The following specimen types will NOT be accepted: CSF or body fluids; Urine; Stool; Whole blood or serum; Specimens in proprietary PCR transport media; Specimens in bacterial transport media, Stewart medium (Culturette), gel, or charcoal transports; Specimens in bacteriological blood culture media; Dry swabs, wooden swabs, calcium alginate swabs.
Methodology
Standard tube culture with monoclonal antibody staining of CPE-positive cultures
Stability
Room temp: 4 hours, Refrigerated: 7 days
Reference Range
By Report*
Turnaround
Up to 5 days
Clinical Use
This method can isolate and differentiate herpes type 1 and herpes type 2. Other viruses in the specimen will not be identified.
Test Code
HSVC