Patient Host: Terri Warren, RN, MS, ANP
Healthcare Provider Host: Gary A. Richwald, MD, MPH
Laboratory Professional Host: Wayne Hogrefe, PhD

Making the Right Choices Requires the Right Information

Patients, Healthcare Providers and Laboratory Professionals all need the right information to make the right choices for diagnosing, treating, and living with the herpes simplex virus (HSV) – as well as preventing its transmission. Most herpes infections are transmitted by people who are unaware they are infected with the virus.

The Right Information

• Prevalence
  • 22% of the adult US population is infected with HSV type-2. (1)
  • 25.5% of women are infected vs. 17.8% of men.
  • 60 million people in the USA are infected with HSV type-2;
    90% don’t know they have it.
  • Viral shedding can transmit infection in the absence of symptoms.
  • About 70% of people get herpes from a partner who is unaware
    they have active herpes at the time they transmit the disease. (2)
  • HSV type-2 infection doubles the risk of acquiring HIV. (3)
  • African Americans have roughly three times the rate of infection
    as whites (46% vs. 17%.)
• Diagnosis
  • Viral culture is the test most commonly used to diagnose genital herpes, yet up to 70% of all cultures are falsely negative in recurrent episodes.
  • Up to 90% of all HSV type-2 infections go unnoticed or undiagnosed. (1) Type-specific blood tests are essential to detect asymptomatic or unrecognized infection.
• Treatment
  • Treatment is available that can minimize or prevent outbreaks. Severity and frequency of outbreaks may vary if infected with HSV type-1 and/or HSV type-2 and can play a role in determining treatment options.

The Right Choice

Individuals/Patients who have been sexually active with multiple partners should be tested for HSV infection, whether they have symptoms or not, in order to prevent the transmission of HSV to their partner or potentially, to their unborn child. With new information now available about the increased risk of HIV infection with HSV type-2, it is even more important to test individuals who are sexually active.

Healthcare Providers should request type-specific serology tests to provide their patients with an accurate diagnosis and appropriate lifestyle counseling.

Laboratory Professionals should offer FDA-cleared, gG based type-specific serology tests for the accurate differentiation of HSV type-1 and HSV type-2 infection.

(1) Flemming DT, McQuillan GM, Johnson RE, et al. Herpes simplex virus type-2 in the United States, 1976 to 1994. N Engl J Med. 1997;337:1105-1111.
(2) Mertz GJ et al. Transmission of genital herpes in couples with one symptomatic and one asymptomatic partner: a prospective study. J Infect Dis. 1988 Jun;157(6):1169-77.
(3) Corey, L. Clinical Tools for Preventing Transmission of Genital Herpes. Medscape Infectious Diseases 6(1) 2004