Herpes viral culture of lesion

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Viral lesion culture

Culture - herpes simplex virus; Herpes simplex virus culture

The risks are slight bleeding or infection at the skin lesion site.

Viral culture for herpes is a poor test and is often falsely negative (but extremely rarely falsely positive). That is, even with a negative result, the person could still have herpes.

Newer herpes simplex fluorescent antibody testing may be an alternative. Please consult your doctor.

Review Date: 02/10/2006
Reviewed By: Kenneth Wener, M.D., Division of Infectious Diseases, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.