Hi

We find that most herpes simplex virus (HSV) blood test would show a positive result by 3 months.  I am unsure of how early it would start to show as we don’t use this test as a screening test.

A HSV blood test is not done as part of a routine STI screening test. It is also an expensive test which is not covered by MSP. If someone had their blood work through a life labs the cost of the test would be $130. At our STI clinics we can do some HSV blood tests, but we can only do them for free under certain situations and we tend to do them as one off tests rather than a screening test which is done on a regular basis.

We also find that the herpes blood tests may not always give the answer someone is looking for. This is because HSV is very common and with oral sex being common, we find a positive result will not tell you where the HSV type is on your body or how long you have had that type.

The HSV blood tests can be helpful in certain situations, feel free to come to our main clinic to discuss your personal situation or we could possibly give you some more specific suggestions on what to do if we knew more about your situation.

Provincial STI clinic in Vancouver.

For additional information on HSV have a look at our HSV page.

Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information.

Health Nurse

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