Help Me Please

[ratlily]

I stupidly pushed my doctor to do HSV serology testing which has come back positive to both HSV1 & HSV2 (I live in Australia and serology testing is not commonly used due to it’s in effectiveness)

I got the phone call from my doctors office last Friday afternoon at 430pm (1630hrs) saying it was non urgent and to make an appointment with my doctor at my convenience.

I of course called back straight away wanting to know what result it was in regards to – which they replied my herpes serology. (I had the tests performed a month ago and had been told that all my results were normal)

I was unable to get in to see my doctor as I live interstate so the receptionist spoke to another doctor then relayed the information back to me saying something about it being a false positive that it could be just laying dormant but then she also said she didn’t know what she was saying to me…

I managed to get in and see a different doctor on the Saturday who informed me that yes I tested positive for HSV2 so that means I have genital herpes. I asked him what the false positive had meant and he couldn’t tell me what they meant by that. He also told me that I need not tell my ex boyfriend or any new potential partners because I’ve never had symptoms of genital herpes.

I had swabs done at the same time of the blood test and previously had swabs done 18 months ago which both came back negative. I’ve never had an out break of herpes except for on my mouth. (I have previously tested positive for HSV1.)

About 3 weeks before I got these tests done I had a small coldsore on my mouth. I get them frequently, especially during winter. So would my IGg / IGm be elevated from that causing a false positive result?

I had been in a relationship for nearly 2 years and since our breakup 6 months ago have slept with 2 men of which I’ve known for a long time (so neither were random strangers) one who is a previous ex boyfriend and has HSV2 but we used protection and he said he hadn’t had an outbreak for months. I have only had sex with him that one time since his diagnosis and like I said we used protection. The other person has had a full STI check and is negative. My most recent ex had never had any herpes symptoms during our relationship so I would think that if I was positive wouldn’t he have shown symptoms???

Also what concerns me is that they said it was non urgent – I’m under the impression that something like a positive HSV2 test would be deemed urgent due to the risk of passing it on.

Any information would be great. I’m so confused, stressed, angry, emotional and on top of all this getting ready to go overseas for 6 months and moving back home 10 days before leaving (so stress levels are higher than normal at the moment!)

[Terri Warren]

I don’t have enough information to answer your question very well. Do you know the values of the IgG antibody test? Was the test an IgG or IgM? You mention both. Can you get this information for me please? Also, can you get the brand name of the test that was done, if possible?

Often herpes is not included in STI testing, so the fact that you had a partner who had a negative STI panel does not necessarily mean that person does not have herpes. Did they say they had a negative herpes antibody test?

Sometimes, a low positive HSV 2 serology can be a false positive, especially when the person has HSV 1. The low positive range for the traditional tests used in the US is 1.1 to 3.5. I’m not sure what test is used in Australia. What I do know is that there are some good herpes experts in Australia and I think the herpes western blot if available there a good confirmatory test.

Unfortunately, 80% of people who are infected with HSV 2 don’t know it. A true positive HSV 2 antibody test means both that you are infected and infectious to others. Most transmission of herpes occurs when the infected person has no symptoms, so it is inaccurate to say if you have no symptoms it doesn’t matter. It does matter if you are infected or not.

Let’s get clear about your diagnosis before we go farther with dealing with something you may not have.

Terri

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