While I am unclear about which type of herpes you have with an index value that high, I’m guessing you are referring to HSV-1. It is impossible to know if you became infected five weeks before this test or a long time before that. HSV one is shed more often from the mouth than from the genitals. If you have ever in your life had a cold sore on your lip, this is where the HSV one antibody is coming from. If you have never had a cold sore and you’ve never had a genital outbreak, it is not possible to know where your HSV one infection is located on your body. Orally, the viruses shed from your mouth and inside the nose and, genitally, from the shaft of the penis and the anus. We do not know the viral shedding rates from people who have HSV one infection but have no symptoms. The symptoms that you describe around your mouth and face do not sound herpetic to me. I cannot tell you when you’re shedding or from where. If you were on suppression, the shedding rate is greatly decreased.
Terri