What might be my risk level?

[Sauri]

Hello!

I recently had a full STD screen completed. I did this as a preventative, as a part of my wellness visit and the fact that I have a new boyfriend. I have had one sexual intercourse partner in my entire lifetime, my husband from whom I divorced this summer after being with for almost five years. We probably had intercourse at most ten times the whole marriage, it was a horrible marriage. It also is highly unlikely he was unfaithful, I do not see him doing that but one never knows really. Our last time for intercourse was likely sometime in July 2015. I have no symptoms whatsoever of HSV-II and never had. I have had cold sores since I can remember. Here are my results.

Herpes I Ab IgG >8.0
Herpes II Ab, IgG 3.0

From reading this forum and info online, it seems I need to do the Western Blot next, although as others have mentioned here primary care providers are not fully aware of this issue of the false positive for HSV-II. They simply recommended to retake the same test. I am a clinical psychologist in practice so I understand signal detection theory and the notion of false positive rates. I was wondering if you might be able to ascertain my general risk level and confirm that in fact the next move should be Western blot. I greatly appreciate your feedback. A part of me wishes I had never included this as part of my screening, yet at the same time I would feel absolutely horrible if someone I care about contracted something that I could have in fact prevented. Thanks for having this forum I really appreciate it.

[Terri Warren]

I definitely think you should have a western blot! Even though 3.0 is a little high, your sexual history does not suggest HSV 2 infection. What about your former husband, what was his sexual history like, prior to your marriage?

Terri

[Sauri]

Hi Terri

Thanks so much for your quick response. I just spoke with him. He had two sexual intercourse experiences prior to marriage. In one case it was protected sex and in the other case it was not. He could not remember if he was tested for STDs. I had been tested for STDs and have never come up positive for anything according to my memory.

[Terri Warren]

The thing is not all STD testing includes herpes testing so it’s difficult to say without reviewing the records if you were tested for herpes. His history doesn’t sound consistent with HSV 2 risk either. I think the western blot is your way to know what is really going on here.

Terri

[Sauri]

Ok great thanks, Ill follow up with Western Blot and repost here if I have questions about the results thanks so much. I think I have one question left for that. This is really a great service you are doing for people very grateful. Have a wonderful weekend.

[Terri Warren]

Thanks, you too!
If you need help getting the western blot, our clinic can do that for you. It is not a test that can be ordered through normal channels. We can send an order to a Quest lab near where you live and have it drawn and shipped to UWashington. Let us know if we can be of help.

Terri

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