Hi, I'm a 50 yr old single male. In 2009, I did a full panel of STD tests in May 2009 ( blood and urine )... with the same result. Positive for HSV-2, negative for others ( HIV, HSV1, Hepatitis, Syphilis, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea ). The herpes test kit used was HerpeSelect ELISA for HSV-1 and HSV-2. Specifically, the HerpeSelect 1 ELISA result was 0.35 and the HerpeSelect 2 ELISA result was 8.79
I repeated the tests in September 2009. A different provider who also used HerpeSelect ELISA. Same results as the testing in May - postive for HSV-2, negative for all others.
I have never had an outbreak or symptom and was told that many people like me have the virus but are asympomatic. I was also told that the higher number of 8.79 from the blood test showed a higher level of antobodies/proteins/enzymes . I have done a lot of reading and understand how the blood tests work and the explanations made sense.
I met a woman recently and told her I had tested positive for HSV2 in the past. She was recently tested ( all tests negative for her ). I said I would gladly test again to show current results. So I tested again in January 2012.
I went to a different provider than I did in 2009 mainly because they mentioned that they use the CAPTIA ELISA.
They told me I tested negative for both HSV1 and HSV2. My HSV-1 CAPTIA ELISA result was 0.461. My HSV-2 CAPTIA ELISA result was 0.735
Obviously I was surprised at this last test. My understanding is that both HerpeSelect and CAPTIA are reliable IgG test kits specifically for herpes 1 and herpes 2. I was expecting to see the same results, but there is quite a difference.
I would greatly appreciate any comments or help on why I have such a different result between the two kits. Thank you
Robert