Genital herpes is the most common cause of genital ulcer disease in both developing and developed nations. Early diagnosis is important to initiate the antiviral treatment to decrease the symptomatic period as well as the number of recurrences. The methods available for early diagnosis include demonstration of viral antigen and PCR. Virus isolation is time consuming and has low sensitivity in recurrent cases. This study aimed to compare the diagnostic utility of Tzanck smear, antigen detection and PCR in genital herpes. A total of 25 patients with clinically suspected genital herpes were tested. Antigen detection was carried out on direct smears by fluorescent antibody test using specific monoclonal antibodies to herpes simplex virus. PCR was performed using primers specific for DNA polymerase gene of HSV. The Tzanck smear was positive in 3/25 (12%), Indirect Immunofluorescence in 4/25 (16%) and PCR in 6/13 (46.1%) specimens. PCR could detect additional 12 cases which were missed by other methods employed. The results indicate that PCR can be used as a rapid, and specific method for the detection of HSV in genital herpes cases.
