Test for Herpes?
A friend of mine recently was informed that a past partner had Genital Herpes. She was told by a doctor in a clinic there was no way to test for the Herpes unless she had visible signs.
I found this a bit odd since i had assumed it would show in the blood.
Is this true? Or can blood test determine if Genital Herpes is present in an individual? And if blood tests are given will they miss the virus? or do they always pick it up?
Thanks in advance
- Herpes Doctor - Public Forums:
Various ways to test
Hi,
It is unfortunately difficult to test for Genital Herpes. There are various types of test available, including virus culture detection tests and serology (blood) tests.
The virus culture detection test can be used when there are lesions present. The serology test can be used when the body has formed antibodies to fight the Herpes virus. Sometimes Genital Herpes can be active without any visible symptoms and this is when the serology test comes in. The newer types of serology tests, the so-called type-specific test are very good, and recommended if you haven't had any outbreaks. They are unfortunately not widely available and are not used routinely.
Unfortunately both tests can turn out false negative and false positive. Both tests need to be done by a doctor or nurse and has to be sent to a laboratory.
It is difficult to test for Herpes, you often have to take several test. Some doctors will test you (the serology test) although you have no symptoms and some think it's a waste of time and won't do it.
I won't recommend the home kits you can buy online. They are not very good and often come up false negative.
Read more about genital Herpes Diagnostics at International HerpesAlliance.org.
Kind regards,
iv
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