When you can see the herpes symptoms, the immune system responds by developing antibodies to fight the virus-like IgG and IgM.
Blood tests can look for and detect these antibodies, as the virus itself is not in blood.
IgG appears soon after infection and stays in the blood for life.
IgM is actually the first antibody that appears after infection, but it may disappear thereafter.
The testing methods for HSV-1 and HSV-2 include:
Blood tests can look for and detect these antibodies, as the virus itself is not in blood.
IgG appears soon after infection and stays in the blood for life.
IgM is actually the first antibody that appears after infection, but it may disappear thereafter.
The testing methods for HSV-1 and HSV-2 include:
- Direct fluorescent antibody (DFA)
- Immunoblot (IgG)
- Culture and Typing (ELVIS®)
- Culture Without Typing
- Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
- IgM and Type-Specific IgG
- Chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA)
- DNA Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)