Are herpes blood tests reliable?

You stated in a response that herpes blood tests (not taken from open sores) are not necessarily reliable. Could you elaborate on this?

Herpes blood tests look for antibodies to the virus rather than the virus itself. False positives are unusual, so if you’ve got a positive result, it’s very likely that you’ve contracted herpes, though you may never have an outbreak. False negatives are more common, occurring in about 15 percent of all people who are tested for herpes. This is because it takes time for your immune system to produce antibodies to the virus, especially if you do not have an active infection (sores). There must be a sufficient quantity of antibodies for the test to be positive, and if the virus is not attacking your cells, you may not produce antibodies against it. All tests recommend waiting 3-4 months after a possible exposure to be tested. After 4 months, the false positive rate has dropped to about 3 percent. The problem is that in those 4 months, it is possible to infect people, and 3 percent is low, but still a substantial number.

Recommendations: Two books about STDs.