Herpes Facts
After having some of my own questions about HSV, I emailed this website
(www.ashastd.org) to get more information. This is the response I
received:
First, let us reassure you herpes is not an uncommon virus. It is estimated that one out of four sexually active adults in the United States has genital herpes, and as many as 90% are undiagnosed or unaware that they have the virus. An individual can have herpes and not notice an outbreak for months or years. For this reason, it can be extremely difficult for individuals to determine when and from whom they may have contracted the virus.
When an individual contracts herpes, their immune system responds by developing antibodies to fight the virus. Blood tests can look for and detect these antibodies, as the virus itself is not in blood. One major point of confusion is that there are two different types of HSV antibodies: IgG and IgM. While IgG testing is accurate, testing for IgM antibodies is not recommended. This is because IgM tests cannot accurately distinguish between HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibodies, and thus very easily provide a false positive result for HSV-2. This is important in that it is estimated that 50% to 90% of the adult population in the U.S. has HSV-1, the primary cause of oral herpes. A person who only has HSV-1 may receive a false positive for HSV-2. Another important point is that some people assume IgM antibodies only appear after an initial infection and this is not the case. While it's true that IgM antibodies appear after an initial infection, studies have shown that they can also appear later on during recurrences. That said, it's not possible to know whether the detected IgM antibodies are related to a past infection or a recent one. In short, relying on IgM antibodies can cause misleading test results, as well as false assumptions about how and when a person actually acquired HSV. Again, IgM testing is not recommended for herpes and we encourage anyone to disregard any IgM results they may receive.
The accurate herpes blood tests detect IgG antibodies. Unlike IgM, IgG antibodies can be accurately broken down to either HSV-1 or HSV-2. The challenge here is that the time it takes for IgG antibodies to reach detectable levels can vary from person to person. For one person, it could take just a few weeks, while it could take a few months for another. Thus, we recommend waiting at least 12 to 16 weeks (three to four months) after the last possible exposure before obtaining one of the accurate tests. Even with the accurate tests, a person could receive a false negative if the test is taken too soon after contracting the virus. That said, the 12 to 16 weeks timeframe should allow more than enough time for antibodies to reach detectable levels. The four accurate, type-specific blood tests that we can refer people to are the Herpes Western Blot, HerpeSelect, CAPTIA and biokit HSV-2 Rapid Test (also available as Sure-Vue from Fisher HealthCare). We recommend asking for one of these blood test by name.
I will insert here that I also went to their chatroom on their website and they specifically said the CAPTIA and HerpeSelect tests were the best ones. And you would need to ask for those by name if you wanted a test done.
If someone tests positive through one of the tests that is known to be accurate then yes, they would be able to transmit the virus.
This is one fact that I wanted confirmation on because I had heard differing opinions. I also asked about this in the chatroom and was told, yes, you have HSV if you test positive for any antibodies with the tests they suggested and would be able to pass it to other people.
If someone has oral herpes, we recommend that they not kiss others or perform oral sex when symtpoms, which would typically be a cold sore or fever blister, are present. With genital herpes, we recommend abstaining during outbreaks and using condoms for genital-to-genital contact between outbreaks. Also, daily suppressive therapy of Valtrex taken by the diagnosed individual has been shown to reduce the risk of transmission to a partner by as much as 50%.
Also, it is possible to go for years, and even possibly your life, having herpes and not know it. A significant percentage of people with HSV will never show any symptoms and, thus, would probably never think about it at all. Some people never notice symptoms or mistake them for something else, pimples, cysts, rashes, etc.
We hope this information is helpful to you. Please don't hesitate to again use this email service, our chat room, or our National Herpes Hotline if you feel that we can be of further assistance. For general information on all sexually transmitted infections, please feel free to look through the question and answer section of our website at: http://www.ashastd.org/learn/learn_overview.cfm.
Sincerely,
HSVnet Email Response Service
American Social Health Association
PO Box 13827
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
National Herpes Hotline (919) 361-8488 (9am to 6pm, ET, Monday through Friday)
Herpes Chat Room 3:30pm to 4:30pm, ET, Monday through Friday
www.ashastd.org
Teen Website: www.iwannaknow.org
Spanish Teen Website: www.quierosaber.org
Another website that I found very helpful is www.herpesdiagnosis.com. Also one that has good info about Herpes and pregnancy is http://www.ihmf.org/general/resources04.asp. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to comment or email me privately at brigideire@yahoo.com. I may not be able to answer questions directly but I can try to research for the answer or point you in the right direction. Hope this information is helpful to someone.
First, let us reassure you herpes is not an uncommon virus. It is estimated that one out of four sexually active adults in the United States has genital herpes, and as many as 90% are undiagnosed or unaware that they have the virus. An individual can have herpes and not notice an outbreak for months or years. For this reason, it can be extremely difficult for individuals to determine when and from whom they may have contracted the virus.
When an individual contracts herpes, their immune system responds by developing antibodies to fight the virus. Blood tests can look for and detect these antibodies, as the virus itself is not in blood. One major point of confusion is that there are two different types of HSV antibodies: IgG and IgM. While IgG testing is accurate, testing for IgM antibodies is not recommended. This is because IgM tests cannot accurately distinguish between HSV-1 and HSV-2 antibodies, and thus very easily provide a false positive result for HSV-2. This is important in that it is estimated that 50% to 90% of the adult population in the U.S. has HSV-1, the primary cause of oral herpes. A person who only has HSV-1 may receive a false positive for HSV-2. Another important point is that some people assume IgM antibodies only appear after an initial infection and this is not the case. While it's true that IgM antibodies appear after an initial infection, studies have shown that they can also appear later on during recurrences. That said, it's not possible to know whether the detected IgM antibodies are related to a past infection or a recent one. In short, relying on IgM antibodies can cause misleading test results, as well as false assumptions about how and when a person actually acquired HSV. Again, IgM testing is not recommended for herpes and we encourage anyone to disregard any IgM results they may receive.
The accurate herpes blood tests detect IgG antibodies. Unlike IgM, IgG antibodies can be accurately broken down to either HSV-1 or HSV-2. The challenge here is that the time it takes for IgG antibodies to reach detectable levels can vary from person to person. For one person, it could take just a few weeks, while it could take a few months for another. Thus, we recommend waiting at least 12 to 16 weeks (three to four months) after the last possible exposure before obtaining one of the accurate tests. Even with the accurate tests, a person could receive a false negative if the test is taken too soon after contracting the virus. That said, the 12 to 16 weeks timeframe should allow more than enough time for antibodies to reach detectable levels. The four accurate, type-specific blood tests that we can refer people to are the Herpes Western Blot, HerpeSelect, CAPTIA and biokit HSV-2 Rapid Test (also available as Sure-Vue from Fisher HealthCare). We recommend asking for one of these blood test by name.
I will insert here that I also went to their chatroom on their website and they specifically said the CAPTIA and HerpeSelect tests were the best ones. And you would need to ask for those by name if you wanted a test done.
If someone tests positive through one of the tests that is known to be accurate then yes, they would be able to transmit the virus.
This is one fact that I wanted confirmation on because I had heard differing opinions. I also asked about this in the chatroom and was told, yes, you have HSV if you test positive for any antibodies with the tests they suggested and would be able to pass it to other people.
If someone has oral herpes, we recommend that they not kiss others or perform oral sex when symtpoms, which would typically be a cold sore or fever blister, are present. With genital herpes, we recommend abstaining during outbreaks and using condoms for genital-to-genital contact between outbreaks. Also, daily suppressive therapy of Valtrex taken by the diagnosed individual has been shown to reduce the risk of transmission to a partner by as much as 50%.
Also, it is possible to go for years, and even possibly your life, having herpes and not know it. A significant percentage of people with HSV will never show any symptoms and, thus, would probably never think about it at all. Some people never notice symptoms or mistake them for something else, pimples, cysts, rashes, etc.
We hope this information is helpful to you. Please don't hesitate to again use this email service, our chat room, or our National Herpes Hotline if you feel that we can be of further assistance. For general information on all sexually transmitted infections, please feel free to look through the question and answer section of our website at: http://www.ashastd.org/learn/learn_overview.cfm.
Sincerely,
HSVnet Email Response Service
American Social Health Association
PO Box 13827
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
National Herpes Hotline (919) 361-8488 (9am to 6pm, ET, Monday through Friday)
Herpes Chat Room 3:30pm to 4:30pm, ET, Monday through Friday
www.ashastd.org
Teen Website: www.iwannaknow.org
Spanish Teen Website: www.quierosaber.org
Another website that I found very helpful is www.herpesdiagnosis.com. Also one that has good info about Herpes and pregnancy is http://www.ihmf.org/general/resources04.asp. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to comment or email me privately at brigideire@yahoo.com. I may not be able to answer questions directly but I can try to research for the answer or point you in the right direction. Hope this information is helpful to someone.