My question pertains to the likelihood of HSV1 &2 transmission from a one time protected encounter with an Asian masseuse at a massage parlor? Approx 1 week ago I went to a massage parlor and ended up being offered sex by the masseuse. She put the condom on before any sex act and it was intact after the 5-10 minutes we engaged. I have had no other exposures outside of my long term partner for the last 10 years plus. 

I’ve felt a huge amount of guilt over this and ended up paying for a 10 panel STD test 4 days post exposure. The blood draw was done at lab pro which I believe to be reputable. The next day I received the results and the igg grade for hsv 2 was 1.06 equivocable and for hsv 1 the igg grade came back 1.88 which looks positive. 

I’m doing research it appears my exposure was on the very low end being that I’m a male and a condom was used but I’m at a loss to the result from the std blood test. 

I have not noticed any symptoms or sores or anything.   

Please advise if there could have been an issue with the HSV tests and where I should go from here. 

Many thanks in advance. 

Your exposure was very low risk - good job for using a condom with this encounter.  Have you ever had a cold sore on your lip or in your nose in your lifetime?  If yes, this is why the HSV 1 is positive.  There are also false positive results on the IgG tests for both HSV 1 and HSV 2.  This is why the CDC recommends against using this test for screening.

Did you also receive oral sex from this person?

If I were you, I would observe for any sores on your penis in the next week or so and if none appear, assume that you are not infected.  I'm so sorry that you did this test as now you will worry greatly, I fear.

If you do continue to worry, and your live in the US, I would recommend that you obtain the herpes western blot antibody test at 12 weeks out from the encounter for greater certainty.

Terri

Thank you for the response. I very much appreciate it. 

The only oral sex that happened was with the condom on and even then it may have lasted a minute. The whole ordeal may have lasted 10 minutes. 

The PCR is the gold standard for swabbing lesions.  It is definitely NOT an appropriate blood test, though sometimes clinicians get confused about how it should be used.

Great that you used a condom for oral sex! 

If you have ever in your life had a cold sore on your lip or in your nose, you are going to be positive for the rest of your life.  However, this number is quite low for HSV 1 and could represent a false positive result, as does the HSV 2 result.

The western blot is only done at the University of Washington. You can work with your own provider to get this or I can help you at westoverheights.com.  You'll need to get the kit for the test; you can call 206-685-6066 to get this started.  This is not a test you can order yourself. 

I strongly suspect that you are negative for both, but that's not a promise.

Terri

Still no sores or physical symptoms noticed. 

As you mentioned in your first response. The initial results returned from the labcorp test have been severely weighing on me. 

Based on the equivalent hsv2 level on the labcorp igg test, it has been recommended that I do follow up testing. Stdcheck recommending that I follow up with the question hsv2 igG inhibition, IA test through Quest diagnostics. I’ve got this scheduled for Wednesday this week. 

I’d like to know if this is reasonably accurate from a follow up testing standpoint and how much faith I can put in the results.  

You could do the inhibition assay,  yes, but just this week, I've had one that was a false positive (negative western blot).  It is not a favorite test among herpes experts.  I've seen pretty good agreement between negative inhibition assay's and negative western blots, but not as good agreement if the inhibition assay is positive

Terri