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Can HSV and herpes be spread without an outbreak?

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Hi doctor, I am a 26 years old male. I underwent a blood test recently and found that there are HSV antibodies present in my blood. I discussed about this, with my doctor. He told that presence of antibodies means I was infected once with HSV. But I am sure that I haven’t had any herpes outbreak in my life. He confirmed that I don’t have it now. My doubt was to rule out a possibility of me spreading the virus to others whom I may have sex with. Is there a chance for such a spreading? The doctor, with whom I have consulted, told me that herpes can be spread from me to someone else, only if there was an outbreak. But from some other sources, I read that, there is no need of outbreak to transmit this infection to others. What is the fact about this? Due to different opinions I am currently abstaining from sex. Please help me to become sexually active, as I was before. Thanks for your time.

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Category: Internal Medicine Specialist
 32 Doctors Online

Thanks for the question. As you may know, genital herpes is caused by a virus infection by HSV or Herpes Simplex Virus. It can be spread from affected person to a non-affected person through sexual contact. But even oral contacts can also cause the spread of this virus. Once infected, the virus will stay dormant in the body of the person which is infected and will come back to an active state when suitable time comes. Suitable situations are when the person suffers from stress or other sorts of illnesses. There are no complete medical treatments available till date for treating Herpes. Usually, infected people are treated according to the symptoms of infection. Antiviral medications are administered in patients to ease out the severity of outbreak. Actually, there is no method found yet to determine whether you can transmit the virus or not. Perhaps your doctor may be wronged with regard to his opinion about the possibilities of spread. But it is found that genital sores, which are seen evidently in patients having HSV infection, causes an increase in risk of transmitting the virus. The only possible way to prevent spread of the virus is abstaining from sex. Or you can decide to use condoms, which are not fool proof in preventing the spread of the disease. It is also advised to have only one partner for the rest of life. Other practices of having sex can increase possibility of outbreak and spread of infection. Hope I have answered well. Take care.


Dr. Steve Merris
Category: Internal Medicine Specialist
Experience: 
Medical School - New York University
Internship in Internal Medicine - Beth Israel Medical Center
Residency in Internal Medicine - Beth Israel Medical Center
Fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine - Columbia University Medical Center
Dr. Steve Merris and 4 other Medical Specialists are ready to help you

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