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Transmission rate risk

I have read that more women are infected with HSV2 than men and that it may be easier for women to be infected than men. If this is true, does anyone know what the risk or a one time protected encounter would be for a male to male sexual encounter? I realize they say that condoms are not 100% but I believe the risk goes down with that. Does the one time encounter reduce the risk further? Does the fact that the experience was with a male reduce the risk also?
Is this a low risk event? Higher if it is with a CSW?
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Avatar universal
Terri Warren is a foremost authority on HSV.

Up until about 3 weeks ago, she was the resident Herpes Expert on this site and has spent years and years giving quality feedback to the people who pay to tap her knowledge bank.  She also runs the Westover Heights Clinic in Portland, OR.  

She says 16 weeks for people like you and me (oral HSV1 infection dating back several years).

Believe it or not, I don't come here to scare anyone.  I come here a few times a day to inform people.  Keep in mind, that these postings are here forever and for years to come people may happen upon this discussion and I think it's important to understand the increased risk that male-to-male sexual intercourse involves.  I'm also not a homo-phobe.  These are facts meant to help people protect themselves going forward.

A condom protected, 1-time encounter is not especially "risky".  And I say that primarily due to the fact that a condom was used and - as you know - this substantially decreases the likelihood that any new infection was contracted by either person involved.
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Avatar universal
Not sure if you have me mixed up with someone else, but "Terri Warren" not sure who that is, has never replied to me on anything as this is my first post. I thank you for the frightening feedback. I will certainly test at 16 weeks it that is where a conclusive result can be had for someone with prior HSV1. So are you saying the due to the exposure that I had, a one time M2M protected encounter, my transmission rate possibility is actually really high? I guess I was under the impression that one time protected encounters, even when the other person has confirmed hsv2, was not that high.

I was just looking for a little piece of mind but instead it seems as though posting a question may have been a bad idea, as I am freaked out mnore than ever.
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Avatar universal
Terri Warren would (and did) advise that you wait 16 weeks for a conclusive IgG test.  Primarily because you already have HSV1 which, as you know, can delay conversion.

Regarding the M2M encounter: While how the transmission rate is impacted by the fact that the encounter was homo rather than than hetero is unclear, what IS very very clear is the fact that - in America - the % of gay men infected with HSV2 is between 40-60% (vs. 16% across the board).  Just wanted to point out that, at the very least, the odds of having been with an HSV2+ partner is greatly increased by sheer virtue of the fact that the sex was M2M.
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Avatar universal
Would you say that I likely do not have much to worry about since it was a one time encounter that was protected. Do not think I had any lesions but I already have HSV1 and I understand that you may not have an outbreak of hsv2 if you already have hsv1 (that is what some of the posts out here say anyway). Also tested negative at 8 weeks for HSV2 IGG type specific but do not know if that tells me anything, especially if having hsv1 delays development of hsv2 antibodies. When should I test again? 12 weeks? 16 weeks? longer?
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Avatar universal
I am unaware of any data on this; the only published research concerns heterosexual transmission by vaginal sex.  It could be higher by unprotected anal sex between men. But still low for any given exposure --probably well under 1 chance in a hundred, even if one partner definitely has HSV2. And probably under 1 in 1,000 if a condom is used.
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