The complement-fixation test in the diagnosis of herpes simplex infections.

As infection with herpes simplex virus appears to be more common than was formerly supposed, laboratory confirmation of the role of this virus in lesions of the mouth, central nervous system, skin, and liver is being sought more often. The simplest laboratory method for diagnosis is by the complement-fixation test, and a number of different methods of making antigen have been recommended since 1929, when Bedson and Bland described their method for this procedure. The correlation between the complement-fixing and neutralization tests has been shown to be very close if not always absolute (Hayward, 1949; Dudgeon, 1950; Holzel, Feldman, Tobin, and Harper, 1953). A comparison of some of these methods was made during the performance of routine tests for herpes simplex infection and it was thought that a report of this experience might be of interest.