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Herpes 2 Testing
In the middle of 2013, I took numerous HSV 2 tests.
Here were the results:
* negative (13 days after possible exposure)
* 1.04 (equivocal - 20 days after exposure)
* 1.11 (positive 22 days after exposure)
* negative again (151 days again after possible exposure).
I decided to get a full array of tests again this past week because I was experiencing slight burning sensation when I was urinating.
On 2/20/15, everything was negative except my HSV 1 test which was over 5 and my HSV 2 test which was 1.3. The test was an IGG test and performed at Quest.
Yesterday (2-24-15), I took the HSV 2 test again and it came back at 6.85. LabCorp did the test.
Why would there be such a big increase in 4 days?
Does this mean that I am HSV 2 positive?
Would you recommend me getting tested again?
The rep is STD Check said that I was even positive when the results were negative in 2013 and that there tests are 97% accurate.
I haven't had any symptoms.
Here were the results:
* negative (13 days after possible exposure)
* 1.04 (equivocal - 20 days after exposure)
* 1.11 (positive 22 days after exposure)
* negative again (151 days again after possible exposure).
I decided to get a full array of tests again this past week because I was experiencing slight burning sensation when I was urinating.
On 2/20/15, everything was negative except my HSV 1 test which was over 5 and my HSV 2 test which was 1.3. The test was an IGG test and performed at Quest.
Yesterday (2-24-15), I took the HSV 2 test again and it came back at 6.85. LabCorp did the test.
Why would there be such a big increase in 4 days?
Does this mean that I am HSV 2 positive?
Would you recommend me getting tested again?
The rep is STD Check said that I was even positive when the results were negative in 2013 and that there tests are 97% accurate.
I haven't had any symptoms.
Almost certainly you don't have HSV2. You can expect confirmatory testing to confirm it.
HSV-2
The recent test scores were as followed for HSV-2:
* 1.3 on 2-20-15 by Quest
* 6.85 on 2-23-15 by LabCorp
* 0.94 on 2-27-15 by Quest.
The recent test scores were as followed for HSV-2:
* 1.3 on 2-20-15 by Quest
* 6.85 on 2-23-15 by LabCorp
* 0.94 on 2-27-15 by Quest.
I received the results from Friday's test from Quest.
The score was 0.94 (equivocal). I am assuming with this last test result and no symptoms that I am negative.
I am still perplexed by the 6.85 score at LabCorp. Do you think they could have typed the number incorrectly or tested me for HSV-1 accidentally?
The score was 0.94 (equivocal). I am assuming with this last test result and no symptoms that I am negative.
I am still perplexed by the 6.85 score at LabCorp. Do you think they could have typed the number incorrectly or tested me for HSV-1 accidentally?
Howard, what results are you looking at that give you confidence? He had tests done in 2013 and was equivocal followed by a negative at 115 days.
Then he repeated tests in 2015 and has come up positive, once at 1.3 and the next at 6.85. I would be VERY concerned and do my level best to find a confirmation test ASAP.
Biokit has been the result of several studies by NIH, as far back as before it was FDA approved and was called POCkit. It showed a mean time to serocoversion detection of 13 days or 8, depending upon primary outbreak or not.
WB remains the gold standard, but I have graphs showing its mean time to detection at 100 days (median seroconversion detection rate in population studied) vs FOCUS ELISA at 23 days (which everyone here seems to know and the doctors had repeatedly discussed on the expert forums)
WB and Biokit appear to be of comparable efficacy, but Biokit is only for HSV2, whereas WB will show +/- for 1&2.
I would strongly recommend everyone take a look at the resource links I provided showing BOTH WB and Biokit's confirm rate for various ranges of ELISA IgG scores.
In a study in Kenya, Biokit was shown to be less sensitive (aka false negatives) than Focus or WB but it very rarely false positives. You can reference this study here discussing the various tests and their success rate compared to WB: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2820239/
Biokit works well in American populations (aka white) but may deliver significantly higher false negative rates in certain African populations (but not others). They discuss this in the study's conclusions, section 4.0.
Then he repeated tests in 2015 and has come up positive, once at 1.3 and the next at 6.85. I would be VERY concerned and do my level best to find a confirmation test ASAP.
Biokit has been the result of several studies by NIH, as far back as before it was FDA approved and was called POCkit. It showed a mean time to serocoversion detection of 13 days or 8, depending upon primary outbreak or not.
WB remains the gold standard, but I have graphs showing its mean time to detection at 100 days (median seroconversion detection rate in population studied) vs FOCUS ELISA at 23 days (which everyone here seems to know and the doctors had repeatedly discussed on the expert forums)
WB and Biokit appear to be of comparable efficacy, but Biokit is only for HSV2, whereas WB will show +/- for 1&2.
I would strongly recommend everyone take a look at the resource links I provided showing BOTH WB and Biokit's confirm rate for various ranges of ELISA IgG scores.
In a study in Kenya, Biokit was shown to be less sensitive (aka false negatives) than Focus or WB but it very rarely false positives. You can reference this study here discussing the various tests and their success rate compared to WB: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2820239/
Biokit works well in American populations (aka white) but may deliver significantly higher false negative rates in certain African populations (but not others). They discuss this in the study's conclusions, section 4.0.
There certainly is no difference in test accuracy between Labcorp and Quest. I agree they are comparable and didn't suggest otherwise. However, there are differences in the tests that can translate into variable results especially when either is weakly positive. Whenever serial blood tests are done for HSV, it's best to use the same test each time. That's not a criticism; there's no reason for you to have thought of it -- indeed, it might have been a rational choice to use a different lab and test to double check the previous results. Still, the current dilemma likely would have avoided had you stuck with Quest.
A single small research study showed BiokitUSA to be a pretty good cross-check for low-positive HSV2 HerpeSelect (Quest) results. If you have a negative Biokit, it would support my judgment that you don't have HSV2. But Western blot is the only universally accepted gold standard to resolve problems like this.
OTOH, as I already said, and despite txr890's comment, I remain confident you don't have HSV2. If I were in your situation, if your repeat HerpeSelect (Quest) shows a definite negative (index under 0.9), I would stop there. But it's your call.
A single small research study showed BiokitUSA to be a pretty good cross-check for low-positive HSV2 HerpeSelect (Quest) results. If you have a negative Biokit, it would support my judgment that you don't have HSV2. But Western blot is the only universally accepted gold standard to resolve problems like this.
OTOH, as I already said, and despite txr890's comment, I remain confident you don't have HSV2. If I were in your situation, if your repeat HerpeSelect (Quest) shows a definite negative (index under 0.9), I would stop there. But it's your call.
I'm going to say if I were you I would be very concerned. Positive results are never anything to just laugh off.
Take a look at the links I provided on this forum for those with ELISA IgG <3.5. People who glibly discount results below 3.5 are foolhardy and misleading. For example, at ELISA IgG from 2.5-3.0, NIH found 60% confirm rate from Biokit and WB to these results. The percentage chance of a true positive rises markedly as the score goes from 1.1 to 3.5. Please, everyone read my post it's on the front page and make yourself aware of what "false positive" means and what your chances are in the absence of any other info.
Find a provider who has a Biokit; you can get this walk-in and find out HSV2 status inside of 15 minutes.
You can repeat another IgG- I had labcorp; I'm aware of no substantial defect in terms of accuracy vis a vis Quest. In fact, in reading on these, I am of the opinion that they are comparable.
Western Blot or Biokit will confirm (the latter only for HSV2).
Take a look at the links I provided on this forum for those with ELISA IgG <3.5. People who glibly discount results below 3.5 are foolhardy and misleading. For example, at ELISA IgG from 2.5-3.0, NIH found 60% confirm rate from Biokit and WB to these results. The percentage chance of a true positive rises markedly as the score goes from 1.1 to 3.5. Please, everyone read my post it's on the front page and make yourself aware of what "false positive" means and what your chances are in the absence of any other info.
Find a provider who has a Biokit; you can get this walk-in and find out HSV2 status inside of 15 minutes.
You can repeat another IgG- I had labcorp; I'm aware of no substantial defect in terms of accuracy vis a vis Quest. In fact, in reading on these, I am of the opinion that they are comparable.
Western Blot or Biokit will confirm (the latter only for HSV2).
Sexual activity or exposures, or partners' HSV status, cannot affect the blood test results.
All things considered, I strongly doubt you have HSV2. If the latest test is unchanged from your previous Quest results, I think you can forget it and move on. But if still slightly high, a Western blot test may be necessary to sort it out, as suggested above.
All things considered, I strongly doubt you have HSV2. If the latest test is unchanged from your previous Quest results, I think you can forget it and move on. But if still slightly high, a Western blot test may be necessary to sort it out, as suggested above.
One other bit of information that I should provide, my second test (6.85 score) was performed after having unprotected sex the day before. If the person (my spouse) that I had sex with the day before was HSV-2 positive, would that dramatically increase my HSV-2 IGG level?
I took one last test on Friday (2/27/15). I should have the results on Monday and Tuesday.
Neither my spouse or myself have had any symptoms that we know of besides slight burning during urination for me for a day and a half.
I took one last test on Friday (2/27/15). I should have the results on Monday and Tuesday.
Neither my spouse or myself have had any symptoms that we know of besides slight burning during urination for me for a day and a half.
Duplicate question. But please disregard the separate reply I left in your other thread. I misread part of it; I've asked the web administrator to delete it.
Your tests at Quest were HerpeSelect, but Labcorp uses an entirely different one. (Quest owns HerpeSelect and Labcorp doesn't use its competitor's product.) Some HSV IgG tests have entirely different cut-off values. Your results at Quest were either negative or only weakly positive for HSV2, with numerical levels that are often false. HerpeSelect isn't reliably positive except when 3.5 or higher.
However, I don't know how to interpret the much higher value at Labcorp. My guess is you don't have HSV2, going along with lack of symptoms. But I suppose it is possible you were infected recently and have been in the process of seroconverting. If you recheck the Labcorp results, including whatever they say about cut-off values, perhaps I or others will have other thoughts about it. But the way to sort this out once and for all is to have an HSV Western blot test, the ultimate gold standard in HSV antibody testing.
Your tests at Quest were HerpeSelect, but Labcorp uses an entirely different one. (Quest owns HerpeSelect and Labcorp doesn't use its competitor's product.) Some HSV IgG tests have entirely different cut-off values. Your results at Quest were either negative or only weakly positive for HSV2, with numerical levels that are often false. HerpeSelect isn't reliably positive except when 3.5 or higher.
However, I don't know how to interpret the much higher value at Labcorp. My guess is you don't have HSV2, going along with lack of symptoms. But I suppose it is possible you were infected recently and have been in the process of seroconverting. If you recheck the Labcorp results, including whatever they say about cut-off values, perhaps I or others will have other thoughts about it. But the way to sort this out once and for all is to have an HSV Western blot test, the ultimate gold standard in HSV antibody testing.
The tests were HerpeSelect IGG Antibody tests.
Do you think I should get tested one more time since there was such a big increase in results?
Do you think I should get tested one more time since there was such a big increase in results?
The 1.3 may have been the weak result from testing as did in fact show a positive but a 6.85 is well into the positive area.
If the test you took was a igG type specific test with numbers showing positive above 1.2 and you tested back to back positive with the last one at over 6 for hsv2 that would pretty much confirm a positive as a rule of thumb. But retest one more time but results like these infer a recent infection.
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