What is Viral culture?
A '''Viral culture''' is a [[laboratory]] test in which the virus samples are placed with a [[Cell (biology)|cell medium]] that the [[virus]] being tested for is able to [[infection|infect]]. If the cells show changes, known as [[cytopathic effect]]s, then a culture is positive, meaning the test indicates infection.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/stv5474.asp |title=Viral culture |last=Curtis |first=Jeanette |author2=Caroline Rea |date=25 May 2007 |work=WebMD |accessdate=2009-09-09 |archive-date=2020-03-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328164644/http://www.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/stv5474.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> The older way of viral culture has been replaced by shell vial culture, in which the sample is [[centrifuge|spun]] onto a single layer of cells and viral growth is measured by [[Laboratory diagnosis of viral infections#Antigen detection|antigen detection]] ways. This shortens the time to detection for slow growing viruses such as [[cytomegalovirus]], for which the method was developed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Storch |first=Gregory A. |author2=Bernard N. Fields, David Mahan Knipe and Peter M. Howley |title=Fields' Virology |editor=David Mahan Knipe, Peter M. Howley |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |date=2007 |edition=5th |volume=1 |page=3177 |chapter= Diagnostic virology |isbn=978-0781760607 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5O0somr0w18C&pg=RA1-PA570}}</ref> ==Related pages== *[[Cell culture]] *[[Instruments used in microbiology]] *[[Laboratory diagnosis of viral infections]] *[[Viral plaque]] ==References== {{reflist}} *{{cite journal |date=2007 |title=Role of cell culture for virus detection in the age of technology |journal=Clinical Microbiology Reviews |publisher=American Society for Microbiology |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=49–78 |doi=10.1128/CMR.00002-06 |pmid=17223623 |pmc=1797634 |issn=1098-6618 |url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=17223623 |last1=Leland |first1=Diane S. |last2=Gi