Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs)

HSV-1 & HSV-2 Antigen & Antibody Detection Assays

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2 are common infections worldwide. However, the majority of infected individuals remain undiagnosed because they are asymptomatic.

HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS

HSV-1 is usually transmitted during childhood through contact with oral secretions (cold sores). Seroprevalence studies indicate about 60% of adults in the United States are infected with this virus. HSV-2 is usually spread by sexual contact (genital herpes). Consequently this infection usually occurs later in life and the seroprevalence rates vary dramatically by geographic region. Both HSV-1 and HSV-2 establish a lifelong, latent infection in the nervous system and there is no cure. Antiviral medications can reduce the frequency, duration and severity of outbreaks and over a period of several years, many infected individuals experience less severe symptoms and fewer outbreaks, although they are still contagious to others. The greatest risk of an HSV infection is in neonates and infants, when an infected mother passes it to her fetus in utero or during delivery. A neonatal HSV infection can be devastating to an infant and 70- 85% of these infections are caused by HSV-2. Many infants infected with HSV are born prematurely and approximately 4% can develop congenital HSV which has serious consequences including death. Diagnosis Diagnostic methods include serological tests such as ELISA and IFA, as well as PCR blood tests and cell culture. Generally tests detect antibodies (IgG or IgM) to HSV-1 or HSV-2, however, due to a high degree of genetic similarity between the HSV viruses, many tests cannot distinguish between a type 1 or type 2

infection. The recent discovery of serologically distinct HSV viral envelope glycoproteins gG-1 (HSV-1) and gG-2 (HSV-2) have enabled the development of new type-specific assays. These assays generally use both purified recombinant type-specific gG-1 and gG-2 antigens, and native HSV common antigens to both HSV and HSV-2 and can discriminate between HSV-1 or HSV infection.