Test results 9 days after contact?

[JohnS]

I got tested 9 days after potentially exposure. My test came back negative HSV1 and positive HSV2 5.95. My question is do you believe this is a new infection or possibly had for some time? I had cold sores as a child so I was expecting opposite results.

[Terri Warren]

This is definitely not a new infection. And the IgG test for HSV 1 misses 30% of HSV 1 infections. Though your results is definitely higher than we normally see for people not infected with HSV 2, if you’ve never had any genital symptoms, you could consider confirmation of this result. Statistically, I do think you would confirm but I have seen index values as high as 17 not confirm. Think about it.

Terri

[JohnS]

Thanks for the response Terri. Now I’m even more confused I took a Quest Igg inhibition test on Nov. 2nd and it came back negative. Should I wait until around 6 weeks since my last sexual encounter and retest using this test? How long should I wait for a Western Blot if I decide to go that direction? Is this test really more accurate than the regular Igg?

[Terri Warren]

the western blot is far more accurate then the IgG or, in my experience, the inhibition assay. Having said that, the issue we’ve had with the inhibition assay is false positives compared to the western blot, not false negatives, so this may be good news for you.

Do you know the HSV 2 status of the person you had sex with that is the concerning encounter that you had?

The western blot should be done 12 weeks after any concerning encounter.

Terri

[Author]

Posts