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What Causes Variations In HSV Test Results?
Posted on
Tue, 14 Jul 2015
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Tue, 14 Jul 2015
Answered on
Tue, 4 Aug 2015
Last reviewed on
Question : my first test shows hsv type 1 positive and hsv type 2 negative, and now i got test results showing hsv type 1 negative and hsv type 2 positive. Is there a possibility the test result is wrong?
Brief Answer:
please give more details
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
there are various tests for HSV. I suppose it's the serological assay but please clarify this for me. If you can upload the actual reports that would be great. A good quality picture or - better - a scanned copy would help a lot. Depending on the test a higher or lower false positive result may be expected.
I'll be waiting for your input...
please give more details
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
there are various tests for HSV. I suppose it's the serological assay but please clarify this for me. If you can upload the actual reports that would be great. A good quality picture or - better - a scanned copy would help a lot. Depending on the test a higher or lower false positive result may be expected.
I'll be waiting for your input...
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Brief Answer:
I can't really say. It takes a few days (usually less than a week)
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
I've seen your reports, but I can't really say if one of them is more credible than the other. The first one which mentions 'type specific IgG' is supposed to be accurate enough. The second does not mention 'type specific' anywhere, so I don't know if it is the same test or not. They both detected antibodies against HSV which is not the safest method to diagnose it. If you still have lesions, the best test is PCR (polymerase chain reaction).
It doesn't make a real difference though, because the clinical course is similar.
Regarding incubation time (time from transmission to symptoms) may vary but the most common duration is a few days long (commonly less than a week). Please note that both HSV-2 and HSV-1 may appear around the mouth or the genitalia, although HSV-1 is more common around the mouth and HSV-2 in the genitals.
Contact me again, if you still have questions about it.
Kind Regards!
I can't really say. It takes a few days (usually less than a week)
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
I've seen your reports, but I can't really say if one of them is more credible than the other. The first one which mentions 'type specific IgG' is supposed to be accurate enough. The second does not mention 'type specific' anywhere, so I don't know if it is the same test or not. They both detected antibodies against HSV which is not the safest method to diagnose it. If you still have lesions, the best test is PCR (polymerase chain reaction).
It doesn't make a real difference though, because the clinical course is similar.
Regarding incubation time (time from transmission to symptoms) may vary but the most common duration is a few days long (commonly less than a week). Please note that both HSV-2 and HSV-1 may appear around the mouth or the genitalia, although HSV-1 is more common around the mouth and HSV-2 in the genitals.
Contact me again, if you still have questions about it.
Kind Regards!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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