Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a novel nucleic acid amplification method in which reagents react rapidly and efficiently, with a high specificity, under isothermal conditions. We used a LAMP assay for the detection of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), and varicella-zoster virus (VZV). The virus specificities of primers were confirmed by using 50 HSV-1, 50 HSV-2, and 8 VZV strains. The assay was performed for 45 min at 65°C. The LAMP assay had a 10-fold higher sensitivity than a PCR assay. An analysis of nucleotide sequence variations in the target and primer regions used for the LAMP assay indicated that 3 of 50 HSV-1 strains had single nucleotide polymorphisms. No HSV-2 or VZV strains had nucleotide polymorphisms. Regardless of the sequence variation, there were no differences in sensitivity with the HSV-1-specific LAMP assay. To evaluate the application of the LAMP assay for clinical diagnosis, we tested clinical samples from 40 genital herpes patients and 20 ocular herpes patients. With the LAMP assay, 41 samples with DNA extraction and 26 direct samples without DNA extraction were identified as positive for HSV-1 or HSV-2, although 37 samples with DNA extraction and just one without DNA extraction were positive by a PCR assay. Thus, the LAMP assay was less influenced than the PCR assay by the presence of inhibitory substances in clinical samples. These observations indicate that the LAMP assay is very useful for the diagnosis of HSV-1, HSV-2, and VZV infections.

The inhibitory effects of an extract of the blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) against pathogens associated with oral, nasopharyngeal and upper respiratory infectious diseases; namely respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza virus A and B (IFV‐A and IFV‐B), adenovirus (AdV), herpes simplex virus type 1, Haemophilus influenzae type B, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus mutans, were investigated. Less than 1% concentration of extract of blackcurrant inhibited replication of RSV, IFV‐A and ‐B and HSV‐1 by over 50% and a 10% extract inhibited adsorption of these viruses onto the cell surface by over 95%. The effects on AdV were much less pronounced; the half minimal inhibitory concentration of AdV replication was 2.54 ± 0.26, and a 10% concentration of the extract inhibited AdV adsorption on the cell surface by 72.9 ± 3.4%. The antibacterial activities of the blackcurrant were evaluated based on its efficacy as a disinfectant. A 10% extract disinfected 99.8% of H. Influenzae type B and 78.9% of S. pneumoniae in 10 min, but had no demonstrable effect against S. mutans. The blackcurrant extract still showed antiviral and antibacterial activities after the pH had been made neutral with sodium hydroxide, suggesting that these activities are not the result of acidic reactions or of components precipitated at a neutral pH. These findings demonstrate the potential of blackcurrant extract as a functional food for oral care.

A total of 21 clones of acyclovir (ACV)-resistant (ACV^r) herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and 23 clones of penciclovir (PCV)-resistant (PCV^r) HSV-1, emerging during serial passages in the presence of ACV or PCV, were isolated under conditions excluding contamination of resistant mutants in the starting virus culture, and their mutations in the thymidine kinase (TK) and DNA polymerase (DNA Pol) genes were analyzed comparatively. Mutations in the TK genes from ACV^rmutants consisted of 50% single nucleotide substitutions and 50% frameshift mutations, while the corresponding figures for the PCV^rmutants were 4 and 96%, respectively (P< 0.001). Eight of the 21 ACV^rclones, but none of the 23 PCV^rclones, had mutations in DNA Pol. Only nucleotide substitution(s) could be detected in the DNA Pol gene, as the gene is essential for virus replication. Therefore, the results for the DNA Pol mutants are concordant with those for the TK mutants in that a single nucleotide substitution was commonly observed in the ACV^r, but not in the PCV^r, mutants. These results clearly point to differential mutation patterns between ACV^rand PCV^rHSV-1 clones.

We report a case of Mycobacterium bovis BCG vertebral osteomyelitis 1.8 years after intravesical BCG therapy for bladder cancer. We differentiated BCG from other Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex members by PCR analysis of deletion regions and started an appropriate chemotherapy regimen resulting in the remission of symptoms within 1 month.