Herpes Simplex Virus II Antibodies, IgG,Immunoblot, Serum

Most recurrent genital herpes outbreaks are caused by HSV-II. However, a proportion of genital herpes cases are caused by HSV-I. While primary HSV-I genital infections are clinically indistinguishable from primary episodes caused by HSV-II, the recurrence rate of HSV-1 infection appears to be lower. Genital herpes infections can be associated with serious morbidity. Genital herpes can cause painful ulcerative lesions and systemic manifestations, including headache, malaise, and fever lasting up to 3 weeks. Meningitis accompanies these symptoms in 10% of men and up to 30% of women with primary infections. The majority of HSV-II infected individuals have a recurrence rate of 4 -5 times per year. Neonatal infections result in permanent neurological damage for many infants despite appropriate antiviral therapy. In persons who are HSV-I seropositive HSV-II infections results in milder episodes with lower frequency of constitutional signs and symptoms and shorter duration of lesions.

Accurate type-specific serological assays allow identification of silent carriers of HSV-2 infection in patients with or without pre-existing antibodies to HSV-I. Serological testing on paired samples alone, is a reasonable backup test when sampling for viral detection is not feasible.

1 ml Serum Stability: 14 Days at 2-8 °C

Negative