Worth A 2nd Test?

[Mitchell]

Hi, Ms. Warren:

About 4 months ago, I had unprotected sex with a woman who told me she had the Herpes virus. She showed no outward signs of the infection (I do not know if she had HSV1, HSV2, or both).

I recently took a full board of STD tests at LabCorp, with all results being negative except a positive for the HSV2 IgG test. The score was 1.21 (above 1.1 considered positive).

That seems like a very low number, and I haven’t seen any symptoms (other than anxiety)…but, given my risky encounter (4) months ago, is it a waste of my time to consider a re-test?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Terri Warren]

No, it would definitely not be a waste of time!
You need a herpes western blot to confirm or deny this low positive IgG type specific value. There is an 85% chance that this is a false positive.
You can arrange this western blot through my office or you can contact the University of Washington to arrange for a test kit to be sent to you personally.
Does that help?

Terri

[Mitchell]

Thank you for the quick reply, Ms. Warren:

It does help a great deal. I’d prefer to arrange the test through your office, but as I’m on the other side of the country, I assume I’ll have to go through U of W.

Is there a reason for the high percentage of false positives at that level? I ask because I want to be realistic about my chances for a different result.

Thanks again.

[Terri Warren]

We arrange for western blots all over the US and all over the world, for that matter.
There appears to just be some cross reaction with other proteins in your body at those low levels – nothing problematic with your body, just a cellular protein that looks similar to the one the test is trying to detect.

Terri

[Mitchell]

Thank you, Dr. Warren:

I have been very anxious at finding anything that looked suspicious, convincing myself that each instance confirmed I was infected. I very well could be, of course, but it sounds like the Western Blot would give me a definitive answer.

I will get in touch with your office Monday to arrange for the test (unless you tell me I can do it sooner).

Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

[Terri Warren]

Monday is soon enough, for sure. The office is closed until then. If we can’t schedule you for Monday, we definitely can for Tuesday.

Terri

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