Is it possible to test positive via culture swab and negative via blood draw (or vice versa)?

[Mgxoxo]

Curious to know if anyone has done multiple times/ tests and received different results.

I.e. test positive via culture swab and negative via blood draw or vice versa.

[~Minerva~]

14 hours ago, Mgxoxo said:

Curious to know if anyone has done multiple times/ tests and received different results.

I.e. test positive via culture swab and negative via blood draw or vice versa.

Yes, this exact scenario happened to me. I tested negative for HSV-2 on a blood draw, and positive on a swab. 
 

For reference, blood draw was 2 1/2 weeks after exposure, swab was 3 weeks after exposure. At this point, 8 months out, I might test positive via blood, but, for me, there’s no point in requesting the test.

[mr_hopp]

Hi and welcome @Mgxoxo! Yes, it's super common to have conflicting test results like that via swab and blood test. This is because it can take up to 3 months for enough antibodies to build up in the bloodstream after an initial herpes infection whereas an outbreak can be directly tested via swab. IgM and IgG tests are notoriously bad at giving false negatives and false positives; Western Blot is the way to go for a definitive answer. Here's a post about herpes tests for more. 

[Mgxoxo]

On 1/2/2021 at 11:12 AM, ~Minerva~ said:

Yes, this exact scenario happened to me. I tested negative for HSV-2 on a blood draw, and positive on a swab. 
 

For reference, blood draw was 2 1/2 weeks after exposure, swab was 3 weeks after exposure. At this point, 8 months out, I might test positive via blood, but, for me, there’s no point in requesting the test.

Thank you so much !

[Mgxoxo]

On 1/2/2021 at 11:13 PM, mr_hopp said:

Hi and welcome @Mgxoxo! Yes, it's super common to have conflicting test results like that via swab and blood test. This is because it can take up to 3 months for enough antibodies to build up in the bloodstream after an initial herpes infection whereas an outbreak can be directly tested via swab. IgM and IgG tests are notoriously bad at giving false negatives and false positives; Western Blot is the way to go for a definitive answer. Here's a post about herpes tests for more. 

Thank you for your reply! Forever Grateful for the abundance of support and knowledge on this website ❤️

[HSV_2_Newbie]

I had no symptoms, but I had had unprotected sex in December. So my GP ordered a full STI screen in January. I:

1. Tested HSV2 positive by pcr on urine 5 weeks post exposure

2. Tested negative for igg at week 8 post exposure. 

My GP says to wait till 6 months. She also says I may not have seroconverted.

I'd like to do another igg test at 12 weeks because I can't deal with the uncertainty. Surely antibodies will have developed by 12 weeks.