Question

Excerpt: “Blood tests [for herpes] can be highly unreliable. The kind of test used to diagnose Lauren, an IgM test, has long been rejected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention but is still used by some clinicians. Meanwhile, the CDC and the US Preventive Services Task Force concur that the most widely available herpes test, called HerpeSelect, should not be used to screen asymptomatic people because of its high risk of false positives: Up to 1 in 2 positive tests could be false, according to the USPSTF’s most recent guidelines.” Based solely on the article, what is the problem with current testing for herpes using the most widely available test “HerpeSelect”? (Select one) a. Low sensitivity b. Low reliability c. Low negative predictive value d. Low specificity.

Answer 1

Correct option:

d. Low sensitivity

Explanation:

The sensitivity of a test, also called the True Positive Rate, is the proportion of people with the disease who will have a positive result.

It is given in the description that the most widely available herpes test, called HerpeSelect, should not be used to screen asymptomatic people because of its high risk of false positives:

So, in this particular case, since False Positive is high, we conclude that it has low sensitivity.