Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) Type-Specific IgG Antibodies

A positive result strongly suggests a recent or past HSV infection. The person may be capable of transmitting the virus to others.

A small percentage of positive HSV-2 IgG results may be false-positive.¹ Further testing may be appropriate for patients with a low or unexpected positive HSV-2 IgG result. The HSV-2 IgG Inhibition, ELISA performed at Quest Diagnostics Infectious Disease can be used to further characterize the sample and distinguish a false-positive from a true-positive result. Contact your local Quest Diagnostics laboratory to order this test.

Not necessarily. A negative result does not rule out infection, because the specimen may have been collected before antibodies reached detectable levels.² This assay can detect HSV IgG antibodies as early as 3 weeks after the onset of symptoms.² However, people seroconvert at different rates, and some do not seroconvert for 6 months or longer.²

Additionally, a very small percentage (0.2%) of HSV-2 isolates lack glycoprotein G (gG).³ When the infecting HSV isolate is gG deficient, a false-negative result may occur.