1.What percentage of HSV2 positive patients undergo seroconversion by six weeks? What about by 3-4 weeks?
By 3 weeks, 50% seroconvert, by 6 weeks, 70% serconvert.
2.I have heard that someone with a prior HSV1 infection is likely to undergo delayed seroconversion following HSV2 infection. Is there any estimate on what the delay might be?
That is correct. We don’t have exact data on that but my guess would be 1-3 weeks longer.
3.I’ve read that during unprotected penetrative sex, women are more at risk and men less. I’ve also read that condoms reduce the risk for women, but have little effect on male risk. Could you comment on the validity of these statements?
Those are all correct statements, yes. Good for you, you’ve doing your reading!
4.What is the likelihood of getting oral hsv2 from unprotected cunnilingus with an infected partner? Likewise, what is the likelihood of genital hsv2 from unprotected fellatio with an infected partner?
We don’t have statistics or studies on either of those situations. I think both are unlikely but certainly possible.
5.What are the chances of contracting herpetic whitlow with an infected female partner? Do cuts, scratches, and abrasions on the hands increase this risk? By how much?
Cuts on the hands would definitely increase the risk of whitlow – the skin of intact fingers is too difficult for the virus to penetrate since it is so thick. I think the risk of acquiring whitlow is also low.
6.Lastly, I am sure this may be hard to estimate, but would be my chances of contracting HSV2 either orally, genitally, or on another part of my body given the situation I have described above?
Well since we honestly have no idea if she is infected or not we need, for the moment, to assume that she is infected. And if she is infected, then she is newly infected which means that she would be shedding quite a bit more virus during the early months following new infection. Again, we don’t have exact statistics on this but I would guess it is somewhere between 5-10% if she has brand new infection and she is not taking antiviral medicine. That’s a wild guess, however.
You have two more posts you can make here, feel free to do so.
Terri