Herpes Simplex Virus IgG in Dehradun

What is a Herpes Simplex Virus IgG?

Herpes simplex virus comes in two types. HSV-1 classically causes cold sores around the mouth and is extremely common, with a large majority of adults worldwide infected, usually in childhood and often without ever noticing. HSV-2 more typically causes genital herpes, though HSV-1 now accounts for a substantial share of genital infections too. IgG antibodies appear some weeks after a first infection and persist for life, because the virus itself is never eliminated: it retreats into nerve ganglia and can reactivate. This test therefore reports past exposure, not current illness, and type-specific assays can distinguish HSV-1 from HSV-2 antibodies. Two limitations are essential. It cannot tell you where on the body the infection is, so a positive HSV-1 result says nothing about whether the site is oral or genital. And in the great majority of infected people the virus causes no symptoms at all, so a positive result in someone well is common and does not predict that they will ever develop sores.

Why take this test?

HSV IgG is advised in a narrow set of circumstances rather than as a general screen. It is used where recurrent genital symptoms occur but no lesion has ever been available to swab, to establish whether HSV antibodies exist at all; where a partner has known genital herpes and someone wants to know their own status; and in pregnancy in specific situations, since a first infection acquired late in pregnancy carries a much higher risk to the newborn than reactivation of a long-standing one, and the antibody status helps distinguish those. It is not recommended as part of a routine sexual health screen in people without symptoms, because a positive result is very common, carries no treatment implication in someone who is well, and causes considerable distress out of proportion to its meaning. If you have an active sore, a swab from the lesion is the better test and gives a direct answer.

• Recurrent genital symptoms with no lesion available to swab
• Establishing status when a partner has known genital herpes
• Specific situations in pregnancy, to distinguish new from long-standing infection
• Clarifying a previous equivocal or non-type-specific result
• Not recommended as a routine screen in people without symptoms
• Not the right test when an active sore can be swabbed

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