AN EVALUATION OF CYTOLOGY IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS INFECTION AND CYTOMEGALOVIRUS INFECTION OF THE CERVIX UTERI

Abstract

Summary A cytological and virological study was made to determine the incidence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection of the cervix uteri in 197 women attending a venereal diseases clinic. Cervical cytology was compared with virus isolation as a means of detecting these infections. Herpes simplex virus was isolated from 11 out of 186 women appropriately tested (5.9 per cent) and an additional 5 patients (2.7 per cent) showed only cytological evidence of the infection, giving a combined diagnostic rate of 8.6 per cent. Cytomegalovirus was isolated from 12 out of 145 patients suitably tested (8.3 per cent) and an inclusion‐bearing cell was identified in one of these patients. An association between CMV and multiple genital warts was noticed.