Abstract: | The ability of various human herpesviruses to be enhanced by the pretreatment of human embryonic lung cells with the pesticide carbaryl (1-naphthyl-N-methyl-carbamate) differs according to the virus tested. Different strains of varicella-zoster virus produced different patterns of susceptibility to enhancement. Laboratory-adapted strains were less sensitive to enhancement than were wild-type strains recently isolated from clinical specimens. The related human herpes simplex viruses types 1 and 2 and cytomegalovirus were negative for susceptibility to enhancement when either laboratory-adapted or wild-type strains were tested. No difference in the pattern of susceptibility was detected whether virus yields were determined by cell-associated or cell-free virus assay or when the input multiplicity was varied 10-fold. |