HSV-1 disclosure

[aroraborealis]

[Poll #1705763]

Comments

Why so few HSV-1 positive people?

[sandhawke.livejournal.com]

Any theories about the difference between the 24% HSV-1+ above and the 50-90% I hear quoted by medical professionals for adult Americans?

Is it that people don't get tested? Or is this population atypical? (ha ha ha.) Or ... what?

I'd be interested in seeing the results of a poll to draw that out.

What is your HSV-1 status:

[ ] positive, according to a blood test or swab of an active lesion

[ ] positive, I assume, because I get cold sores (but I haven't had a medical test to confirm it's HSV-1 instead of HSV-2)

[ ] negative, according to a blood test in the past five years

[ ] unknown/other

Re: Why so few HSV-1 positive people?

[sandhawke.livejournal.com]

(Don't try to reply with data here, there wont be enough results to matter. Maybe aroraborealis will do a followup real poll, at some point.)

Re: Why so few HSV-1 positive people?

[totient]

[ ] positive, I assume, even though I do not get cold sores, because I live in the United States of America and am over the age of six (but I haven't had a medical test)

This is a "no" according to the definitions of this poll, and I'm sure that's why the difference you describe.

Re: Why so few HSV-1 positive people?

[sandhawke.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. My very small recent sample turned up a large fraction of people who assumed like you until they got tested and found they were negative. This is what provoked my question.

Re: Why so few HSV-1 positive people?

[42itous.livejournal.com]

Maybe the 50-90% is a skewed segment of the population because it's the people who suspect they might be infected and that's why they go in for testing and that's why the medical statistical world knows about them. The vast majority of negative people don't go in for testing and therefore aren't counted in the stats.

The high false-positive rate for this test may also play a role.