Screening for genital herpes should b...( of passing genital herpes to newborns...),Health

of passing genital herpes to newborns, but they haven't developed antibodies yet, so the screening test doesn't show infection. If a pregnant woman knows that her partner has genital herpes, she can lower her risk of contracting the disease and transmitting it to her baby by avoiding sex or by using condoms during the third trimester.

"It's about using these tests with caution and with counseling," said Sarah Guerry, MD, currently with the County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services. Because there is no treatment for asymptomatic HSV-2, she suggested that doctors "need to do good pre-counseling before using these tests and be prepared to counsel afterwards."

"Screening should be done cautiously in specific populations," said Dr. Guerry. "What you're testing for is a chronic, incurable STD ... You've got to make sure screening is doing more good than harm," Dr. Guerry said.

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Contact: Steve Baragona
sbaragona@idsociety.org
703-299-0412
Infectious Diseases Society of America
9-Dec-2004

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