prior HSV 1 effect my western blot for HSV2?

[Fidecard]

I've always had hsv 1 orally since childhood.  I read a study by Dr. Wald and some posts on the medhelp forums that even after six months a Western Blot will only be around 90% accurate in detecting hsv 2 if I were infected given my prior hsv 1?  Is this accurate Nurse Warren?  can you offer a better percentage?  any further studies I could read up on?  

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

I looked back over all these posts, and we are clearly beating a dead horse when 9 months have passed since your last exposure.  Any test done now would be as accurate as it is going to get.

The link that you provided does NOT suggest that 10% of people make don't make antibody detectable by western blot after six months.  Western blot, at six months, picks up the vast majority of infected people.  I've had, in 30 years of practice, 8 people who have not become positive by western blot but have had swab test positive herpes.  About half of these have HSV 1.  So that makes four people in 30 years who have failed to convert by western blot to HSV 2.  That's an incredibly small number because we see a ton of herpes patients.

It's time for you to let this go and move on!

Terri

[Fidecard]

Bump

[Fidecard]

Thank  you for your response Nurse Warren.  I've seen this discussed a couple times on the forum...

Looks like it was a major topic here;
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/STDs/HSV-2-test-decisive/show/1263922

and you answered a similar question here on your forum;
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Herpes/HSV2neg-woman-considering-intercourse-with-HSV2pos-man/show/1276385

If I *did* somehow contract HSV2, how would I know?  I am concerned about the possibility of passing it on to others.

You might know, you might not.  But if you don't stay together, I would recommend that you get HSV 2 antibody testing about 3-4 months after your last sexual encounter.  If you have HSV 1, you are less likely to know that you are infected with HSV 2.

It had been 9 months since my last exposure and the time of the WB test.  Would you say that is over 95% accurate given my hsv1 status?

[Terri Warren, RN, Adult Nurse Practitioner]

That statistic is not correct.  Can you site me the reference?  The University of Washington suggests that waiting 16 weeks will provide an accurate diagnosis for HSV 2.  Having HSV 1 can delay slightly the time to seroconversion to HSV 2, but we aren't clear how much - perhaps a month at the most.  Can you tell me how long it has been since any risky exposures to time of testing?

Terri