Reply To: Negative, Low Positive, Equivocal: What does it mean?

[C. Cavernosa]

I plan to get an better understanding of her serostatus and she has said she will be retested. I don’t know for sure if she if HSV 1 negative, but I am making an assumption. Perhaps her concern is HSV 2. We are somewhat geographically inconvenient, so things are moving at a somewhat different rhythm. I will bring this up before the WB result even comes back.

I suppose I can wait to push for further info about what an inconclusive WB might mean; that bridge has not yet come in to view. But I wonder if it is around the corner.

I suppose I am looking for more granularity in considering these numbers. It seems you are saying that a negative result, a low positive, and a test just falling into the equivocal range could all indicate a previously unrecognized (or recently acquired?), positive status. Or that it could possibly be test noise, and blood proteins or whatnot interfering with the test. If a true positive, do the low numbers have any meaning for time period of acquisition or implications for shedding? Can shedding be tested in the absence of visible lesions? At what cost and procedure?

IF a true positive, what is the data about transmission for HSV 1 with/without suppression therapy?

Could someone acquire HSV 1 and not have any particularly noticeable symptoms?