M33-A

Antiviral Susceptibility Testing: Herpes Simplex Virus by Plaque Reduction Assay; Approved Standard

NCCLS document M33-A-Antiviral Susceptibility Testing: Herpes Simplex Virus by Plaque Reduction Assay; Approved Standard, the first to address phenotypic antiviral susceptibility testing, standardizes susceptibility testing of herpes simplex virus (HSV). This standard contains information about performance of the plaque reduction assay (PRA) for HSV susceptibility testing, the test method to which other antiviral susceptibility testing methods are usually compared. This standard provides detailed instructions for preparation of the viral inoculum, preparation and dilution of antiviral agents, inoculation of cell cultures, preparation of the overlay medium, incubation of inoculated cell cultures, fixation and staining of cell cultures, counting of plaques, calculation of endpoints, and interpretation of results. A quality control section addresses procedures for evaluation of cell lines, selection of reference strains and quality control ranges, standardization of inocula, and other quality control issues.