Diagnosis
Guidelines
Any person who has been sexually active may have contracted genital
herpes. You should see your healthcare provider about being tested
for genital herpes if any of the following apply:
- More than five lifetime sexual partners
- A partner with known genital herpes
- Pregnant and you or your partner have had more than five lifetime
sexual partners
- Any recurrent lesions or symptoms in the area of the genitalia
- A history of STD or HIV infection
CDC Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines
(as
printed in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)
CDC Guidelines excerpts**:
"...the clinical diagnosis of genital herpes should be confirmed
by laboratory testing. Both virologic tests and type-specific serologic
tests for HSV should be available in clinical settings..."
"Because false-negative HSV cultures are common, especially
in patients with recurrent infection or with healing lesions, type-specific
serologic tests are useful..."
"...older assays that do not accurately distinguish HSV type-1
from HSV type-2 antibody, despite claims to the contrary remain on the
market."
"...serologic type-specific gG-based assays should be specifically
requested when serology is performed."
The MMWR series of publications is published by the Epidemiology
Program Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
US Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta GA 3033.
**Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sexually transmitted
diseases treatment guidelines 2006. MMWR 2006;55(No. RR-11):[page
16].
To view the complete report, please go to:
> http://www.cdc.gov/STD/treatment/2006/rr5511.pdf
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