Type specific herpes testing in LOS?

[lekyai]

having a bit of a scare, wondering if anyone knows of any hospital or clinic in or around bkk or chiang mai that provides type-specific blood testing for hsv.

[kansuwan]

having a bit of a scare, wondering if anyone knows of any hospital or clinic in or around bkk or chiang mai that provides type-specific blood testing for hsv.

 

Don't know about Chiang Mai, but in BKK it's easy: Bumrungrad, Samitivej or Camillian (descending order of price).

 

Good luck!

[fostraswift]

just out of interest why would you want to know which type you have?? both are incurable i taught

Edited August 27, 2009 by fostraswift

[lekyai]

just out of interest why would you want to know which type you have?? both are incurable i taught

 

big difference between type 1 and 2 down there. for most people, their immune systems better tolerate type 1. you get fewer, less severe outbreaks and it goes asymptomatic often after only a short while. there's that plus the fact that if your girl has type 1 antibodies already (good chance she does, the number ranges from between 60-90% of adults in the west), there's very little chance of her contracting it genitally.

[fostraswift]

big difference between type 1 and 2 down there. for most people, their immune systems better tolerate type 1. you get fewer, less severe outbreaks and it goes asymptomatic often after only a short while. there's that plus the fact that if your girl has type 1 antibodies already (good chance she does, the number ranges from between 60-90% of adults in the west), there's very little chance of her contracting it genitally.

 

thanks for the info

[lekyai]

Don't know about Chiang Mai, but in BKK it's easy: Bumrungrad, Samitivej or Camillian (descending order of price).

 

Good luck!

 

gotta check up on this in bkk then. spoke to someone at bumrungrad though but was told that the herpes test they do isn't type specific. if that's the case, it'd be useless for me since in all likelihood i've probably already been exposed to type 1.

[Harry Brown]

My GP tells me that a blood test will not confirm which type you have, the only way to be sure is to take home a swab kit and when you have an outbreak you swab the broken skin making sure you get plenty of moisture on the swab and you can have it tested. IN Aus the doctor gives you a swab kit that you post off to the lab and they send the results back to the GP

[mai]

This is what I have found out:

 

Best bet is the Herpeselect blood test [option 4]. When you find a hospital- demand the exact name of the test (they will confuse you with IGm IGg etc).

Clinical diagnosis is difficult(but the normal way it is done in the west) - I had doctors all over Asia tell me scabies,herpes,warts,molluscum - in the end it turned out to be molluscum even though it didnt have the trademark dimple. To be told Herpes (and warts) got me depressed for months. SO DONT TRUST THESE ASIAN DOCS- half the time they rely on text books and I also think there is a difference between white and dark skin people getting skin diseases. For instance, I can only say I have seen one girl with oral herpes (cold sore) and she worked in a 7/11! But I have seen loads of white guys with it.

My final diagnosis was at mens clinic which is downstairs in the Thai red Cross Clinic in BKK from an experienced STD nurse who has seen a lot more than these professor docs in the expensive hospitals.

Try her out(if she is not in, there is a young guy, but I recommend her). Also get your HIV (200 bht) and Syphilis tests (60 bhat) done at same time in a reliable clinic. Also if you need meds(Acyclovir for Herpes) you will save money as this place is a subsidized charity so its cheaper). They will apply podophyllin if they think its warts - but be warned about this - it changes the appearance of the pimple (and turns the skin red around it),which makes a future diagnmosis more difficult.

If its molluscum, they just open up the pimple with a needle (with anaesthetic before) and pullout the fatty bits with tweezer. The things healed up within days- slight scarring- if I had known this from the first pimple, it would have stopped the spreading (autoinoculation) to the 4 or 5 other places!

I have also since found a place where all the thais go about their stds. Its on Pattaya-Nakula Rd, on the left hand side driving from the roundabout. Ithink its at the top of the slope.Look outfor clinic (all thai writing) with about 10 people sat outside- its always busy. Dont know any prices though.

 

1. CLINICAL EXAMINATION and an assessment of your previous symptoms (history) are very poor at detecting herpes. HSV symptoms are easily confused with other diseases (even by experts) or may present atypically (redness rather than sores), so it’s quite possible to get an incorrect diagnosis on this basis alone.

 

2. VIRAL CULTURE - Although this test has a high rate of false negatives (~50%), it is the most valid test available. Unlike blood tests, it requires the presence of active viral shedding (e.g., open sores). This test can distinguish between HSV-1 and HSV-2 and has the advantage of being able to identify the location of infection. If you get this test, be sure that your doctor requests that the culture be typed (e.g., HSV-1) – most labs will not report type unless specified.

 

3. POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (PCR) - PCR testing also requires the presence of active viral shedding. However, PCR is a more sensitive test than viral isolation and is also type specific. PCR is now available for commercial use but it may not be available at your doctor’s facility.

 

4. NON-TYPE SPECIFIC BLOOD TEST - Certain types of blood tests, like the older ELISA, will detect herpes, but it can’t distinguish between the two types of herpes simplex (HSV-1 & HSV-2). HSV-2 is the type usually associated with genital HSV infection, while HSV-1 is the type usually associated with oral HSV infection (i.e., cold sores). However, both types of HSV can infect either location. Non-type-specific ELISAs may be useful if patients have no history of HSV infection. However, because a significant proportion of the population is infected with HSV-1 (~70%), non-type-specific tests are usually inconclusive at determining secondary HSV infections (e.g., HSV-2) due to the amount of cross reactivity.

 

5. TYPE-SPECIFIC BLOOD TESTS - such as the Western Blot, *Focus Technologies HerpeSelect (herpesonline.org recommended) ELISA or Immunoblot test for both HSV-1 and HSV-2 and can distinguish between the two types of HSV. Active viral shedding is not necessary (unlike PCR or Viral Isolation) in order to detect HSV infection (even if you are not currently having symptoms). There is only one U.S. lab that processes blood samples for the Western Blot (University of Washington) so you may have to wait a week or more for your results (For Canadians, the WB can be processed at lab Virdae Clinic).

 

NOTE: Blood tests for the long-term IgG antibodies are generally reliable only after 12 to 16 weeks of infection. Please be aware that all blood tests have an error rate and that false negative indications are possible, while false positive indications are almost nonexistent. Within the first few weeks of infection, detection of early antibodies (IgM) may potentially be useful for diagnostic purposes (absence of IgG, but presence of IgM may indicate a new infection). IgM testing is limited in value because, at this time, it is not type specific.