HSV 1 and HSV 2 test numbers...

Friends,

I got nervous when my girlfriend admitted to a prior sexual relationship with someone she thinks is gay. She insisted never having an STD but I wanted to be sure that I was negative. No symptoms, no physical signs on her or me. Always used condoms which broke twice in 7 months.

I had a battery of tests done and the so called positive tests were HSV 1 and HSV 2

on 6/22/10  
HSV 1/2 IgM AB after fasting 12 hours yielded
HSV 1 IGM , IFA <1:20
HSV 2 IGM , IFA <1:20

1.10 is positive, .90-1.10 is equivocal, and .90 or less negative

on 7/20/10 my follow up test indicated:
HSV 2 IgG Herpeselect Ab
HSV 2 IGG Type Specific AB            1.29H

Now my doctor who is a general internal medicine doctor told me I have HSV 1 and HSV 2 positive. She also said my antibody levels are rising which "indicates recent infection".

She also told me I could have a "more" definitive test for HSV 2 for $300 that would likely not be covered by insurance.

There are three questions:

1) Since I have no symptoms (yes I understand you can have have both HSV1&2 without symptoms) what would you do if you had these numerical results?

2) Do the HSV2 numbers mean anything about when I was exposed?

3) What are the % of false positives for this  HSV 2 IgG Herpeselect Ab test?

Thanks for taking a moment to comment.

[gracefromHHP]

your hsv2 igg is a very low positive. At this point you'll need to confirm your status with additional testing. http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Herpes/low-positives---confirmatory-results/show/1097724?personal_page_id=873762#post_5060604  is a prior post here with more info in it.

your gf also needs to get tested to see what her status is if you are still with her.

grace

[canthisberight]

Grace, thanks. my girlfriend got had blood drawn today for a battery of STD tests.

Looks like my posting got a little screwed up. I had a total of three tests:

The last two were:
6/22/10 HSV 1 and 2 IgG Herpeselect Ab
HSV 1 IGG Type specific AB    3.99H
HSV 2 IGG Type specific AB    1.02H

then a follow up was done on 7/22/10
HSV 2 IGG Herpeselect AB      1.29H

So my doctor says oh your positive and the anti-bodies are INCREASING! So it is recent infection. Your positive for both. But I have seen people writing about HSV 1 high results generating false positive HSV 2 results. Could that be me?  I can pay for a better test for peace of mind. Should I get the Blot test?

thx

[gracefromHHP]

there is info in that link I sent as to what can give a false positive.

if gf tests negative for hsv2, you know it's not a newly acquired infection either.

grace

[canthisberight]

The tests are in. My girlfriend is positive for HSV1 and negative for HSV2.

In the past 15 years, I had sex with two women. The first has no symptoms and now the second has no symptoms and a negative test result for HSV2.

What would you do?

thx

[gracefromHHP]

you need confirmatory testing done like a herpes WB. odds are you have a false positive but it'll take additional testing to confirm that.

[southperson7]

Can someone tell me if this is a low reading and what does this mean? Should i get retested?

Herpes 1 Ig G Antibodies- Positive up to 1:200 dilutions. Negative in 1:400 and further dilutions.
(IFA Test)

Herpes 11 IgG Antibodies- Positive up to 1:100  dilutions. Negative in 1:200 dilutions and further dilutions.
(IFA Test)

Is this like a low positive and i should retest?