Making the Right Choices Requires the Right Information

The clinical diagnosis of genital herpes is both insensitive and nonspecific - Laboratory tests can help diagnose HSV infections

Patients

Sexually active adults should be tested for HSV infection, whether they have symptoms or not, in order to reduce the risk of transmitting HSV to their partner or  to their unborn child. With studies associating HSV-2 infection with the increased risk of becoming infected with HIV, it is even more important to test individuals who are sexually active.

Healthcare Providers

Both virologic and type-specific serologic tests for HSV should be available in a clinical settings providing care for patients with STDs or those at risk for STDs. If a patient requests type-specific serology, or is at risk of acquiring an STD, then the healthcare provider should have therapy and lifestyle counseling material available.

Laboratory Professionals

Type-specific serology tests can help diagnose HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections

This website provides up-to-date information on the importance of laboratory testing for the herpes simplex virus or HSV, describing both traditional culture methods and the type-specific HerpeSelect serological tests trusted by healthcare providers and laboratories worldwide.

The Facts About HSV infections and Herpes

• Prevalence
  • 17% or 1 in 5 of the adult US population is infected with HSV-2. (1,9)
  • 23.1% of women are infected vs. 11.2% of men.⁽⁹⁾
  • 45 million people in the USA are infected with HSV-2⁽²⁾; 90% are unaware they have it⁽⁵⁾.
  • 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.⁽⁶⁾
  • HSV-2 positive adults have up to 3 times the risk of acquiring HIV.⁽⁷⁾
  • African Americans have roughly three times the rate of infection as whites (46% vs. 17%.)⁽⁸⁾
• 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.⁽⁵⁾
• Up to 90% of all HSV-2 infections go unnoticed or undiagnosed.⁽¹⁾ Type-specific blood tests may be useful for helping to diagnose asymptomatic or unrecognized infections.
• Treatment
• Treatment is available that can minimize or prevent outbreaks. Severity and frequency of outbreaks may vary if infected with HSV-1 and/or HSV-2 and can play a role in determining treatment options.