Undetectable viral load, does that mean you are cured of HIV?

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 36.7 million people worldwide are living with HIV / AIDS at the end of 2018. However, not all of them know that they have HIV and have HIV. viral load tall one. Viral load is a measurement used to determine how susceptible a person living with HIV / AIDS (PLWHA) is to transmitting the disease.

What is that viral load ?

Viral load is the range of the number of virus particles and the amount of HIV RNA per 1 ml (1 cc) of blood sample.

In other words, viral load is a measure of how far and how fast the disease has progressed in the body, which is known by the amount of virus in the blood sample.

The higher the number of virus particles in your blood, the higher your risk of transmitting the virus and experiencing HIV complications, such as opportunistic infections and AIDS.

Viral load can provide information about the extent of a person's HIV stage, as well as how well antiretroviral treatment (ART) controls infections in the body.

How to know levels viral load in the blood?

To find out how much viral load in your body, the way is with a blood test.

The best time to get tested viral load is as soon as you are officially diagnosed as HIV positive. The results of this first test will usually be used as a benchmark for observing the development of the HIV virus in the body during subsequent treatment.

Test to measure viral load also not only done once. As long as you are still on medication, your doctor will recommend that you take routine tests. The aim is to evaluate the success of treatment to date. The right combination of medication will usually decrease the amount of virus in the blood drastically within one month.

However, based on the results, your doctor may also decide to change your HIV medication regimen. If this is the case, you will be asked to have the test first within 3-6 months before starting to take any new HIV drugs, and 2-8 weeks after starting them until you notice a change in the amount of virus in your blood.

How to read test results viral load?

In general, the number viral load around 10,000 copies per 1 ml of blood is considered low, while 100,000 or more is considered high. An HIV test to find out the level of the virus in the blood can give fairly accurate results because it can detect at least 20 HIV RNA.

Multiple result categories viral load what usually reads after the test are:

Virus detected

Getting results " viral load detectable "means that you do have the HIV virus in your body. However, the level can be high or low because it depends on many factors.

As already mentioned, the number of viruses reaching 100,000 copies per 1 ml of blood is categorized as viral load high. When viral load If you are high, it means that your immune system is failing to fight HIV properly.

These results usually tend to be found in people newly diagnosed with HIV. On the other hand, a high viral load can also indicate that HIV transmission has recently occurred.

On the contrary, the amount viral load below 10,000 is the low category. In this condition, the virus may still be in its window period, and not actively replicating. Internal damage may not have occurred significantly.

However, got results viral load low does not mean you are free from risk. Without treatment, viral load can increase so that the virus will start destroying CD4 cells in the blood.

On the other hand, a low viral load can also mean that treatment is going well.

Undetectable virus

Results that ranged from less than or equal to (≤) 40 to 75 copies of virus per 1 cc of blood were categorized viral load "not detected" (undetected) . The exact number will depend on the lab analyzing your test.

An undetectable viral load means that your immune system is recovering and successfully strengthening itself. In addition, it also reduces the risk of transmitting several other sexually transmitted diseases, such as chlamydia, syphilis, and HPV.

A decrease in the number of viruses to this limit can also mean that the treatment you are taking is working against the HIV virus in your body. Thus, you have a very minimal (or even impossible) risk of passing HIV infection to others.

When the status viral load from what was detected turned into undetected , the doctor will do an HIV test every three to four months. Meanwhile, if the decrease in viral load is also accompanied by an improvement in overall body health, HIV testing can be carried out less frequently; that is, every 6 months to once a year.

Viral load blip

Viral load blip is a test result that shows a transient detectable increase in the amount of HIV in the blood after the last treatment has effectively suppressed the virus to "detectable" levels; and then drop back to be undetectable on the next test.

Yield range viral load blip is an increase from <50 copies per mL to above 200, 500 or even 1,000 copies / mL. Most blips appear to be below 200 copies per 1 cc of blood.

This condition does not necessarily indicate that your HIV treatment is not working. The resulting "blip" could be caused by another infection, such as the flu or herpes, or a recent vaccination, or it could simply be a lab error.

If you experience blip too often, your doctor will find out what caused it and the possibility of changing your medication.

Evaluation viral load through a CD4 test

In HIV treatment, the results of an evaluation of HIV disease progression are also combined with a CD4 cell count. Observation through a CD4 test can predict how severe the symptoms and condition of HIV disease are in the future.

In comparison with the CD4 result, it is usually the result viral load high results determine the symptoms appear more quickly than low results.

Lowering high viral load

If viral load You haven't dropped to undetectable levels in three to six months after starting treatment, which means the virus is resistant (resistant) to the antiretroviral drugs you are currently taking.

You can have an HIV blood test to see the levels of drug substances in your blood and to see if your HIV has become resistant to any of the drugs.

If the latest HIV test results still show that your virus has returned to be detected, you may need to change your HIV treatment. Your doctor will discuss the best treatment options for you.

Different laboratories use different standards for calculations viral load in the blood. Consult your doctor to find out exactly what your test results mean.

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