Diagnosis Guidelines

Any person who has been sexually active may have contracted genital herpes. You should see your healthcare provider about being tested for genital herpes if any of the following apply:

• More than five lifetime sexual partners
• A partner with known genital herpes
• Pregnant and you or your partner have had more than five lifetime sexual partners
• Any recurrent lesions or symptoms in the area of the genitalia
• A history of STD or HIV infection

CDC Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines
(as printed in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)

CDC Guidelines excerpts**:

"...the clinical diagnosis of genital herpes should be confirmed by laboratory testing. Both virologic tests and type-specific serologic tests for HSV should be available in clinical settings..."

"Because false-negative HSV cultures are common, especially in patients with recurrent infection or with healing lesions, type-specific serologic tests are useful..."

"...older assays that do not accurately distinguish HSV-1 from HSV-2 antibody, despite claims to the contrary remain on the market."

"...serologic type-specific gG-based assays should be specifically requested when serology is performed."

The MMWR series of publications is published by the Epidemiology Program Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta GA 3033.

**Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines 2006. MMWR 2006;55(No. RR-11):[page 16].

To view the complete report, please go to:
> http://www.cdc.gov/STD/treatment/2006/rr5511.pdf