IgG 2.75 Herpes Test Results And Its Meaning

by SilkaR
(NY, USA)

I took the IGG Type specific test for HSV2 and the test gave a number (score) of 2.75. Please explain. Could this score have been influenced by HSV1 that I've had for over 15 years or by shingles I had 20 years ago?


Answer

Although a 2.75 score is very low it means that you have been exposed to the HSV 2 virus. HSV-1 is also increasingly recognized as a cause of genital herpes, currently 5 to 30% of primary HSV cases are caused by HSV-1. HSV Type 2 HSV-2 is the cause of 70 to 95% of primary genital herpes infections, with HSV-1 causing the remainder.

There is no evidence of relation between Herpes Zoster virus (shingles) to Herpes Simplex virus type 2, however if you ever had chicken pox, often the IgG will show a positive for herpes.

Add info... Antibody response to HSV
Individuals infected with HSV produce virusspecific IgG antibodies that are usually detectable for life, even during periods of latency. Thus, detection of HSV IgG antibodies in a given individual indicates that the individual is infected with HSV and is capable of transmitting the virus to others.

Although HSV-1 and HSV-2 share many antigens in common, the glycoprotein G (gG) antigen is unique to each type; thus, gG1 is found only on HSV-1, and gG2 is found only on HSV-2.