Focus Technologies Provides New Herpes Resource

HERNDON, Va. -- Focus Technologies announces that a new educational Web site is now available to provide information about genital herpes and diagnostic testing for herpes simplex virus (HSV). The site, http://www.herpeselect.com/ , is sponsored by Focus Technologies, an infectious disease company and provider of HerpeSelect type-specific HSV testing services and diagnostic test kits for use in laboratories. Information is organized to answer questions that may arise from three major audiences: patients who inquire about being tested, healthcare providers who order the test, and laboratories who perform the testing.

To address the topics relevant for each audience, respected healthcare professionals serve as expert hosts: a nurse practitioner addresses patient questions; an infectious disease physician informs healthcare providers; and a PhD virologist discusses laboratory questions. These knowledgeable professionals balance scientific objectivity and compassion as they describe genital herpes, a sexually transmitted disease, and the laboratory tests that can point to a definitive diagnosis. In addition, http://www.herpeselect.com/ provides links to other herpes-related sites sponsored by professional organizations and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The need for improved herpes diagnostics is reflected in the epidemic growth of genital infection over the past 20 years. Today, more than 1 in 5 adults in the US is infected with herpes simplex type 2 (HSV-2), the most common ulcerative genital infection. The CDC's 2002 Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines published in May 2002 stressed the importance of using newer glycoprotein G-based diagnostic test kits to detect HSV-1 (type 1) or HSV-2 (type 2) antibodies. Antibodies to HSV-2 are almost universally due to genital herpes infection; HSV-1 antibodies, more commonly associated with oral 'cold sores,' also indicate genital infection in up to 30 percent of the cases in the US. According to recently published reports, most current laboratory test kits, in spite of claims, cannot reliably differentiate the two types of antibodies and very often give false results. The laboratories who have adopted the newer type-specific HerpeSelect tests have already begun to report accurate HSV serological results, according to recent proficiency testing results.

Source: Focus Technologies, Inc.