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	Is it required, necessary or just recommended for a clinical virology lab to confirm a Herpes culture CPE with a immunoflourescent stain or other test prior to reporting out the results?
	There is no written requirement for confirming Herpes CPE with FA or other means. Under optimal conditions, an experienced virologist can usually identify herepes simplex virus based upon CPE, cell tropism, and time in culture. However, CPE produced early in the HSV infection process; specimens with a low concentration of infectious virus; and HSV CPE produced in unhealthy or toxic cell sheets can resemble cytopathology produced by other viruses. In addition, the diagnosis of HSV (especially in the genital area) can have significant social repercussions. Therefore, confirmatory testing is highly recommended.

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