Table of Contents
What does reference range negative mean in herpes?
Negative/Normal. It may mean the sample didn’t have enough of the virus to be detected. If you still have symptoms of herpes, you may need to get tested again.
Can you test positive for herpes and then test negative?
This is most common in the first few weeks after infection, before the body has produced antibodies to the virus – the blood test is looking for these antibodies, so the blood test can be negative during the first few weeks after someone has been infected with herpes.
What is the range for a positive HSV-2 test?
0.80 – 0.99: Equivocal-Repeat in 10-14 days may be helpful. Greater than 0.99: Positive – May indicate a current or previous HSV infection. 0.90 – 1.09 IV: Equivocal – Repeat testing in 10-14 days may be helpful. Greater than 1.09: Positive – May indicate a current or recent infection.
Can you test positive for herpes and never have an outbreak?
Symptoms of HSV are often short-lived and mild. Many people who test positive for herpes antibodies have no symptoms; often, they can’t recall even a single outbreak.
What does a positive HSV-2 IgG mean?
A positive result means that the patient has an HSV infection. The patient may be experiencing an initial outbreak or a recurrent outbreak from a past infection.
Does having HSV-2 antibodies mean you have herpes?
HSV-2 is typically responsible for causing genital herpes. It’s generally transmitted through sexual contact. HSV-1 and HSV-2 don’t always cause symptoms, and people may not know they have the infection. The serum herpes simplex antibodies test doesn’t actually check for the HSV infection itself.
What causes a false positive herpes test?
A person who only has HSV-1 may receive a false positive for HSV-2. IgM tests sometimes cross-react with other viruses in the same family, such as varicella zoster virus (VZV) which causes chickenpox or cytomegalovirus (CMV) which causes mono, meaning that positive results may be misleading.
Can you have herpes antibodies but not the virus?
This test does not detect the virus itself. If antibodies to the virus are present, the person has been infected with herpes simplex at some point in his or her life. If the infection is very recent, a few weeks to a month, antibodies may not be detected, but a person may still be infected.
Can HSV-2 go away?
Herpes has no cure. But antiviral medicines can prevent or shorten outbreaks during the time you take the medicine. Also, daily suppressive therapy (for example, daily use of antiviral medicine) for herpes can lower your chance of spreading the infection to your partner.
Can HSV-2 be false positive?
False positive HSV-2 results can happen, especially in people who are at low risk for a herpes infection. Also, we do not know if people who test positive for herpes will change their sexual behavior as a result of a positive test.
Is HSV-2 a big deal?
This points to the medical reality of genital herpes: It is, for the vast majority of people, no big deal. Along with the 11.9 percent with HSV-2, 47.8 percent of Americans in the 14-to-49 age range carry HSV-1, or “oral herpes,” which generally causes cold sores around the mouth but can also cause genital herpes.
Is herpes type 2 common?
Genital herpes infection is common in the United States. CDC estimated that there were 572,000 new genital herpes infections in the United States in a single year. Nationwide, 11.9 \% of persons aged 14 to 49 years have HSV-2 infection (12.1\% when adjusted for age).