Recommend Western blot?

[Concerned7846]

Hi,

I had unprotected oral sex and protected(condom) vaginal sex in June of 2019 with a female partner. Months later this female partner let me know she had hsv1. Since that time, per my request she let me know she has not tested positive for hsv2 and has never had physical symptoms. Her last test was prior to our time together.

In March of 2020 I had a routine physical and blood test.

My numbers for hsv were:

Hsv 1 <.91
Hsv 2 1.34 high

A week later (March 2020) I went to any Lab test now and got a herpes blood test:

Hsv 1 <.91
Hsv 2 1.31 high

Hsv 2 supplemental – Negative

In July 2020, I went to any Lab test again:

Hsv <.91
Hsv 2 .94 equivocal

Hsv 2 supplemental – Negative

I have never had any symptoms of hsv2. I have had no additional sexual contact outside of what was mentioned.
I believe I have had cold sores, but I was surprised my hsv1 is always negative.

Would you recommend western blot or returning to Any Lab Test now for another igg ? I’d like to save the money, but I also would like some definite answers and peace of mind.

Thank you for your help!

[Terri Warren]

I would not recommend another IgG test – for sure! If you want much greater certainty, you can get the western blot, yes. At this point, you are technically positive for HSV 2 but I would guess that it is a false positive. The IgG test misses 30% of HSV 1 infections, so if you think you’ve had cold sores, it is likely the test missed them OR you really weren’t infected with HSV 1. The western blot would tell you. If your concern is HSV 2 alone, I would let that one go if you’ve only had sex with this person, she tests negative for HSV 2 AND you used a condom. Are you sure she tested negative for HSV 2?

Terri

[Concerned7846]

Thank you.

My only concern is hsv-2 not hsv-1. The person I was with let me know she tested negative for hsv2 prior to being with me but I don’t know the exact timeline of that. I did ask if she would be willing to get tested again since I got some of these results and she just says she does not have it and has no physical symptoms and is not willing to do that which is frustrating but o well.

The positives are very low positives, correct?

I may just make an appointment with you to get western blot.

Thanks for your help and this forum.

[Terri Warren]

It’s good that she tests negative for HSV 2 and I would let that go. Your low positives could represent an infection prior to her, I supposed, but again, I strongly suspect that these HSV 2 results do not represent a true positive. If you continue to be concerned, let me know and I’ll help you with the blot.

Terri

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