Which Herpes Tests Are Recommend Most Reliable

by Parent
(FL, US)

My 20 year old daughter had anal/oral sex; 2 days later developed painful sores around anus. Test results comes back positive for herpes.

HSV test has to be done. I get mixed info. Time frame and which test are most reliable to recommend for definitive hsv1,hsv2.

Answer
As you don't say I presume that this was a visual diagnoses (they were diagnosed by their symptoms). The problem with visual diagnosis is, it is easy to mistake genital herpes symptoms for something else or the other way round.

Therefore accurate testing is important for genital herpes. A doctor can take a sample from a sore and look for the herpes simplex virus (HSV) in it. One test is called a cell culture. Any viruses in the sample are allowed to multiply so that they're easy to find under a microscope.

A blood test can detect HSV antibodies even when you have no symptoms of genital herpes. The present testing for herpes is based on antibody testing as with either the IgM/IgG Elisa Test or the Western Blot Test. Both these merely signifies that the virus once existed within the body. Futhermore it takes several weeks for HSV antibodies to show up in the blood. Blood tests are of limited use because they only show that you have been exposed to the virus at some point.

There are other tests, such as PCR, available as well. The PCR test is almost 300% more sensitive in picking up actual viral material from spinal fluid than was the viral culture. Sadly, in some countries the PCR DNA test is not routinely available to the clinician in the office at this point in time. However if your doctor has the ability to perform PCR DNA testing for herpes simplex, ask for that instead of a viral culture.