Farmingdale, NY
A 50-year-old female asked:
Can someone with genital herpes have a western blot when there's no outbreak?ive had hsv1 on mouth many times,blood test said hsv2 1.25 & hsv1 5.0
2 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in

Dr. Ed Friedlanderanswered
Pathology 46 years experience
Of course: These serologic tests tell you nothing about whether you ever have outbreaks. Many of us question their value except in confirming clinical suspicion of active or episodic infection.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago

Dr. Claude Parolaanswered
Internal Medicine 42 years experience
HSV western blot: A western blot is perform to confirm an ELISA positive test ( antibody detection). When an antibody is detected , it doesn't tell 100% of the time if it is because of HSV or from any other virus, so to determine if it is due to HSV for example, certain protein from a known sample of HSV is made to react with the antibody detected to see if it is from HSV or not, active infection isn't necessary
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
3.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Last updated Sep 29, 2016
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