Serological tests for antibodies to HSV are rarely useful to diagnosis and not routinely used in clinical practice - HERPES
Serological tests for antibodies to HSV are rarely useful to diagnosis and not routinely used in clinical practice[26], but are important in epidemiological studies. Serologic assays cannot differentiate between antibodies generated in response to a genital versus or an oral HSV infection, and as such cannot confirm the site of infection. Absence of antibody to HSV-2 does not exclude genital infection because of the increasing incidence of genital infections caused by HSV-1.