Sensitivity and specificity of PCR, IHC, culture, and ISH for the detection of HSV-1. Strong PCR refers to at least 50 genome equivalents in sample before amplification and strong IHC indicates a strong IHC signal
| Test | Sensitivity (%) | Specificity (%) |
| PCR | 82 | 78 |
| IHC | 74 | 85 |
| Both PCR and IHC+ve | 68 | 97 |
| Culture | 2 | 100 |
| In situ (LAT) | 0 | — |
| Strong PCR | 28 | 100 |
| Strong IHC | 54 | 88 |
| Either PCR or IHC+ve | 95 | 63 |
LAT = latency associated transcript.