Serum herpes simplex antibodies

• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X

Herpes biopsy

Herpes serology

Approximately 70% of adults have been infected by HSV-1 and have antibodies against the virus. About 20% of adults will have antibodies against the HSV-2 virus.

The presence of antibodies indicates that you have been infected with herpes-simplex recently or at some point in the past. Certain patterns of antibodies can sometimes help determine whether the infection is recent.

If you have been infected within the past weeks to 3 months, your body may not have yet mounted an antibody response and the test may be falsely negative. This time frame is called the window period.

Herpes simplex virus stays in your system once you have been infected. It may be dormant and cause no symptoms, or intermittently reactivate (flare-up) and cause symptoms. This test is not helpful in determining whether you are having a flare or reactivation.

HSV-2 is commonly associated with genital herpes while HSV-1 is usually associated with cold sores (oral herpes), however, some cases of genital herpes are caused by HSV-1 and vice versa. Certain antibody tests against herpes simplex are not always able to definitively distinguish between HSV-1 and HSV-2, hence results should be interpreted with caution and discussed with your health care provider.

Review Date: 06/17/2005
Reviewed By: Rocio Hurtado, M.D., Division of Infectious Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.