One year ago I had a painful sore after having unprotected sex.  The doctor visually diagnosted it as herpes but did not do any testing.  I have not had any recurrences. One year later, I had HSV blood tests IGM and IGG with negative results, twice.  The doctor confirmed this means the infection was not herpes.  However, I just found out my partner at the time has tested positive.  Do I have herpes or not?

The IgG antibody test misses 30% of HSV 1 infections and 8% of HSV 2 infections, compared to the gold standard herpes western blot.  Do you know why type of herpes your partner tested positive for?---

No, the test he took did not differentiate between type 1 or type 2, the doctor said it could be either. The test I took was for both types and both were negative.  I had a repeat test about one month after the first negative result to confirm, all results were negative again. The tests for both of us were conducted one year after the occurrence. He has never experienced symptoms. We have not had any physical contact for a year.

I have seen many false positives on the combined antibody test.  I think your partner should take a type specific antibody test - one is that separate for each type for an accurate answer.  This will be more accurate.  The "miss rate" that I described above will still apply if he is negative.  If he is positive for either, then you could consider doing the western blot for an accurate answer about your status.---