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Herpes viral culture of lesion - Risks

Alternative Names

Culture - herpes simplex virus; Herpes simplex virus culture

What the risks are:

Risks include slight bleeding or infection in the area where the skin sample was removed.

Special considerations:

The viral culture for herpes test is most likely to be accurate when a person is newly infected (during the first outbreak).

Viral lesion culture

Reviewed last on: 9/13/2009
Susan Storck, MD, FACOG, Chief, Eastside Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Redmond, WA; Clinical Teaching Faculty, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Gupta R, Warren T, Wald A. Genital herpes. Lancet. 2007; 370(9605):2127-37.

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